New Languages of the Avant-garde and Symbolic “Opening” of the Soviet Urban Areas

The article analyzes the potential of the avant-garde architecture to give a boost to the development of the Soviet urban areas under current conditions. The author states that the growing interest to the objects of the avant-garde heritage contributed to the appearance of the new vision of the Soviet urban districts filling them with new meanings and symbolic values. For that reason, the proposed paper aims to outline and describe the main narratives of the Soviet avant-garde architecture that have taken shape in recent decades and have gradually established in a public discourse. By means of this exploration the author seeks to trace symbolic transformation of the Soviet urban districts and, thus, to argue that their change under post-Soviet conditions depend not so much on the new urban city-planning initiatives as on the new symbols and meanings that could give a new perception of these spaces in the current social and cultural contexts.   Keywords: Soviet avant-garde architecture, urban areas, discourses, practices of representation, languages of description, utopia, creative industries, cultural initiative

Mobile communications, mobile language

The present paper addresses essential discourse elements of the English language of science in light of the so-called Anglo-American intellectual style. Emphasised here are: various linguistic devices of compression (writing succinctly, avoiding verbosity and negation etc.), keeping subject and verb close together, and common revision patterns. Key standardized discourse models and academic vocabulary – as well as their Ukrainian equivalents – are also discussed. Special attention is given to Active vs. Passive voice usage, and adequate language framing of the author’s viewpoint in scientific discourse

Flutter by, butterfly: or wonder-full writing tools : a review of Technique in Nonfiction: the Tools of the Trade, by Steven Darian. Linus Learning, 2016, 271 p.

I am a great believer that writing can be brilliant. But how can one master this art? Some say it’s even impossible… Or is it? Perhaps the answer to this question is learning from the best teachers who generously share with us their tools of the trade. “Technique in Nonfiction: The Tools of the Trade” by Professor Steven Darian is doing exactly this. But first, why butterflies? Well, they will be mentioned thrice throughout the review, but each time to convey a slightly different thing. Let’s start by saying that some books do have the so-called “butterfly effect” – the potential to significantly influence the future for years ahead..

Uralmash in the architecture of the soviet avant-garde: an experiment in city construction in the 1920S and 1930S

The article was submitted on 15.02.2016.На примере соцгорода Уралмаша анализируются условия реализации масштабного градостроительного эксперимента в Советском Союзе периода 1920–1930-х гг. Показано, что формирование авангардной застройки, ставшей своеобразным символом эпохи, определялось целой совокупностью факторов и во многом отражало сложную социальную динамику времени. Автор полагает, что анализ этой динамики требует новых инструментов, поскольку существующие подходы в большинстве своем ориентированы на использование упрощенных объяснительных моделей. Рассмотрение советского градостроительства в отечественных исследованиях, как правило, связано с неизменным поиском некоего общего фундаментального основания, которое смогло бы объяснить все его перипетии, противоречия и неоднозначные тенденции. В роли такого основания обычно выступает либо определенный субъект (например, власть или архитектортворец), либо некий универсальный феномен (идея, стиль, технический прогресс). Каждая из этих категорий позволяет по-своему упорядочить все факты, выстроить цельную картину развития градостроительства и дать объяснение ключевым закономерностям. Однако предлагаемый взгляд нередко оказывается крайне узким и одномерным. Более того, как показывает пример Уралмаша, значение этих факторов в анализе реального градостроительного процесса в целом ряде случаев является весьма условным. Так, понятие «власть» далеко не всегда предполагало наличие последовательно реализуемой стратегии и существование четкой системы регулирования строительной деятельности. Во многих случаях за стратегией стояла совокупность ситуативно принимаемых решений, при этом отдельные процессы и вовсе оказывались вне ее фактического контроля. Смена архитектурного стиля, имевшая судьбоносное значение для развития советской архитектуры в целом, в условиях реализации конкретного градостроительного проекта означала для архитекторов не более чем изменение правил игры и слабо влияла на ход самого строительного процесса. Как следствие, для выявления природы градостроительных изменений 1920–1930-х гг. все эти категории требуют обстоятельного критического анализа и адекватного соотнесения друг с другом.The article analyses a large-scale urban planning experiment held in the Soviet Union in the 1920s–1930s: the construction of the Uralmash socialist city. It is shown that this avant-garde project, considered a symbol of the era, was determined by multiple factors and thus represented complex social dynamics. The author argues that the analysis of these dynamics requires new theoretical instruments, since those extant largely utilise simplified schemes and explanations. This has meant that the study of Soviet urban planning is usually focused on the search for a certain fundamental principle which can explain all tendencies, challenges, and controversies. Such a principle can be either a subject (e.g. the ‘authority’ or ‘architect-creator’) or a certain universal phenomenon (‘idea’, ‘style’, ‘technological progress’). Each of these categories provides a specific framework which allows the scholar to build an integral picture of the development of Soviet urban planning and give an explanation for architectural fashions. However, such a view on Soviet architecture is usually narrow and one-dimensional. Moreover, as the case of Uralmash shows, the meaning of these categories is sometimes highly ambiguous. For instance, the notion of ‘power’ does not always mean the existence of a gradually realised strategy or a clear system of regulation. In many cases, the ‘strategy’ was in fact based on a set of situational decisions; furthermore, certain processes remained beyond any control. Thus considered, if changes in architectural style had a crucial role for the overall development of Soviet architecture in the 1930s, then it meant nothing more for the architects involved than a simple change in the ‘rules of the game’: it thus had little impact on real building practices. For that reason, a comprehensive analysis of Soviet urban planning requires a critical review of these categories of analysis and the development of a new way to implement them into research.Материал подготовлен при финансовой поддержке гранта Президента РФ (МК-8766.2016.6)

Integration Processes of Benzene-toluene-xylene Fractionation, Hydrogenation, Hydrodesulphurization and Hydrothermoprocessing on Installation of Benzene Unit

The heat exchanger network (HEN) of the unit of benzene production at petrochemical plant was inspected and the obtained data were analyzed for possible plant retrofit targeting the minimal energy consumption and increasing of plant efficiency. The benzene-toluene-xylene fractionation, hydrogenation, hydrodesulphurization and hydrothermo processing units of the plant were analysed and the data of existing HEN flowsheets were extracted. The minimum temperature difference for the retrofit was determined by analyzing the cost parameters of the proposed modifications as well as the energy cost. Using Pinch Analysis methodology the Composite Curves and Grid Diagram were obtained for the integrated processes of these plant units. The new flowsheet of the HEN of the regarded units was developed; and the possible application of heat transfer equipment was analyzed and proposed

Discourse of Modernist Heritage and New Ways of Thinking about Socialist Urban Areas in Eastern Europe

Received 18 August 2019.Accepted 17 September 2019. Published online 5 October 2019.Dealing with the socialist urban legacy proved to become one of main challenges for the cities of Eastern Europe in the last decades. The fall of socialism found most of the socialist urban areas either as “rejected” heritage or as a sort of “devastated” spaces which had lost their functional meaning, symbolic significance, and any clear narratives. In such conditions, it is particularly important to watch out for those processes, which enable socialist urban legacy to acquire new languages and symbols in order to be included into the current social dynamics. This article explores the potential of the world modernist heritage discourse in giving a new approach to interpreting urban legacy of socialist era. Over the past decade, the sharp increase in the activities around re-thinking and revitalization of modernist heritage turned into a global trend. For Eastern Europe modernist legacy appeared to become a certain lens, through which it is possible to explore various visions of the Eastern European urban past within different contexts. The article seeks to reveal how the global discourse of modernist heritage influences current perceptions and attitudes towards the socialist urban legacy in the Eastern European countries, and aims to find out to what extent it facilitates integration of this legacy into changing symbolic contexts.This research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant №17-18-01165)

Admittance spectroscopy of charge traps of FET based on nanotubes

Investigation of electrical properties of FET based on polymer wrapped nanotubes, namely charge carrier transport and trap appear mechanisms. Model of carrier transport in the device was performed. Local traps states activation energies were obtained

Writing for international audiences

The present paper deals with writing for international audiences from the perspective of “localizing international”, “internationalizing the local” and overall “humanizing”communication. Issues regarding using plain language, expressing time, date, as well as (im)personalizing devices, linearity and sentence length, culture specific elements are considered. Special attention is given to avoiding fuzziness and ambiguity.В статье рассматриваются е аспекты письменной коммукации на английском языке в свете национального и интернационального и гуманизации общения. Анализируются особености упрощения языка, обозначения времени, даты, выражения (де)персонализации, линеарного построения текста и длины предложений, релевантным вопросам лингвокультурного характера. Также уделяется внимание вопросам избегания синтаксической омонимии

Optical microsphere resonators: optimal coupling to high-Q whispering gallery modes

A general model is presented for coupling of high-$Q$ whispering-gallery modes in optical microsphere resonators with coupler devices possessing discrete and continuous spectrum of propagating modes. By contrast to conventional high-Q optical cavities, in microspheres independence of high intrinsic quality-factor and controllable parameters of coupling via evanescent field offer variety of regimes earlier available in RF devices. The theory is applied to the earlier-reported data on different types of couplers to microsphere resonators and complemented by experimental demonstration of enhanced coupling efficiency (about 80%) and variable loading regimes with Q>10^8 fused silica microspheres.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure