Reform of secondary education in post-communist Estonia: advancing or dismantling social cohesion

The concept of integration in the most basic of senses refers to intermixing of groups of people that were previously segregated. Estonia, as the focal point of this study as opposed to another post-Soviet nation, is unique in that it is such a small country, and this state possesses a variety of traits that distinguishes it from other states in the process of reform and from other multicultural states. Over 25% of the population of Estonia speaks Russian as their mother tongue, and currently the youth of these Russian-speaking communities are feeling the weight of the integration process. Education reform has been put in place in Russian-language schools so that the students will speak Estonian better and therefore will have more opportunities than previous generations to become well integrated in society. This seems harmless, but a debate has arisen over the period of this reform’s implementation that questions the potential success of this integration. This thesis focuses on the implementation of the Estonian integration program, specifically through the educational reform and whether or not the measures enacted have been successful. By looking at the process of the education reform in two phases, visiting specific Russian-language and Estonian immersion schools, interviewing individuals integral to the process itself and cross-referencing this study with others done on similar topics in the past, the researcher is able to analyze the results of the Estonian integration program as it stands in 2011. Using models of multiculturalism and its critiques, the researcher brings a better understanding of the diversity of the country. One of the largest setbacks for this country and its attempts at reform is the uneven distribution of resources, be they qualified teachers, materials, textbooks, monetary funding or otherwise. With any integration, there are debates, and among the main reasons for success or failure of such integration programs, the researcher outlines that community involvement and a positive environment, as well as realistic expectations are all solid contributors.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4541217*es

Reform of Secondary Education in Post-Communist Estonia: Advancing or Dismantling Social Cohesion

The concept of integration in the most basic of senses refers to intermixing of groups of people that were previously segregated. Estonia, as the focal point of this study as opposed to another post-Soviet nation, is unique in that it is such a small country, and this state possesses a variety of traits that distinguishes it from other states in the process of reform and from other multicultural states. Over 25% of the population of Estonia speaks Russian as their mother tongue, and currently the youth of these Russian-speaking communities are feeling the weight of the integration process. Education reform has been put in place in Russian-language schools so that the students will speak Estonian better and therefore will have more opportunities than previous generations to become well integrated in society. This seems harmless, but a debate has arisen over the period of this reform\u27s implementation that questions the potential success of this integration.;This thesis focuses on the implementation of the Estonian integration program, specifically through the educational reform and whether or not the measures enacted have been successful. By looking at the process of the education reform in two phases, visiting specific Russian-language and Estonian immersion schools, interviewing individuals integral to the process itself and cross-referencing this study with others done on similar topics in the past, the researcher is able to analyze the results of the Estonian integration program as it stands in 2011. Using models of multiculturalism and its critiques, the researcher brings a better understanding of the diversity of the country.;One of the largest setbacks for this country and its attempts at reform is the uneven distribution of resources, be they qualified teachers, materials, textbooks, monetary funding or otherwise. With any integration, there are debates, and among the main reasons for success or failure of such integration programs, the researcher outlines that community involvement and a positive environment, as well as realistic expectations are all solid contributors

Wideband performance comparison between the 40 GHz and 60 GHz frequency bands for indoor radio channels

When 5G networks are to be deployed, the usability of millimeter-wave frequency allocations seems to be left out of the debate. However, there is an open question regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the main candidates for this allocation: The use of the licensed spectrum near 40 GHz or the unlicensed band at 60 GHz. Both bands may be adequate for high performance radio communication systems, and this paper provides insight into such alternatives. A large measurement campaign supplied enough data to analyze and to evaluate the network performance for both frequency bands in different types of indoor environments: Both large rooms and narrow corridors, and both line of sight and obstructed line of sight conditions. As a result of such a campaign and after a deep analysis in terms of wideband parameters, the radio channel usability is analyzed with numerical data regarding its performance

Fractal Image Editing with PhotoFrac

In this paper, we describe the development and use of PhotoFrac, an application that allows artists and designers to turn digital images into fractal patterns interactively. Fractal equations are a rich source of procedural texture and detail, but controlling the patterns and incorporating traditional media has been difficult. Additionally, the iterative nature of fractal calculations makes implementation of interactive techniques on mobile devices and web apps challenging. We overcome these problems by using an image coordinate based orbit trapping technique that permits a user-selected image to be embedded into the fractal. Performance challenges are addressed by exploiting the processing power of graphic processing unit (GPU) and precomputing some intermediate results for use on mobile devices. This paper presents results and qualitative analyses of the tool by four artists (the authors) who used the PhotoFrac application to create new artworks from original digital images. The final results demonstrate a fusion of traditional media with algorithmic art

RMS delay spread vs. coherence bandwidth from 5G indoor radio channel measurements at 3.5 GHz band

Our society has become fully submersed in fourth generation (4G) technologies, setting constant connectivity as the norm. Together with self-driving cars, augmented reality, and upcoming technologies, the new generation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is pushing the development of fifth generation (5G) communication systems. In 5G architecture, increased capacity, improved data rate, and decreased latency are the objectives. In this paper, a measurement campaign is proposed; we focused on studying the propagation properties of microwaves at a center frequency of 3.5 GHz, commonly used in 5G cellular networks. Wideband measurement data were gathered at various indoor environments with different dimensions and characteristics. A ray-tracing analysis showed that the power spectrum is dominated by the line of sight component together with reflections on two sidewalls, indicating the practical applicability of our results. Two wideband parameters, root mean square delay spread and coherence bandwidth, were estimated for the considered scenarios, and we found that they are highly dependent on the physical dimension of the environment rather than on furniture present in the room. The relationship between both parameters was also investigated to provide support to network planners when obtaining the bandwidth from the delay spread, easily computed by a ray-tracing tool

The valuation of European financial firms

We extend the recent literature concerning accounting based valuation models to investigate financial firms from six European countries with substantial financial sectors: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. Not only are these crucial industries worthy of study in their own right, but unusual accounting practices, and inter-country differences in those accounting practices, provide valuable insights into the accounting-value relationship. Our sample consists of 7,714 financial firm/years observations from 1,140 companies drawn from 1989-2000. Sub-samples include 1,309 firm/years for banks, 650 for insurance companies, 1,705 for real estate firms, and 3,239 for investment companies. In most countries we find that the valuation models work as well or better in explaining cross-sectional variations in the market-to-book ratio for financial firms as they do for industrial and commercial firms in the same countries, although Switzerland is an exception to this generalization. As expected, the results are sensitive to industrial differences, accounting regulation and accounting practices. In particular, marking assets to market value reduces the relevance of earnings figures and increases that of equity

La formación en valores para la construcción de la interculturalidad educativa.

El presente trabajo hace un análisis teórico-reflexivo sobre la importancia de la formación profesional y la educación en valores para transicionar hacia modelos incluyentes en la diversidad cultural, propios del entorno globalizado e hiperconectado de las sociedades modernas. Se contextualiza a la interculturalidad como elemento clave para vincular los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje con las singularidades y problemáticas asociadas el etnocentrismo cultural y la alteridad. En este sentido, el trabajo se enmarca dentro de una revisión temática que contribuya a la comprensión, inclusión y reconocimiento de la diversidad cultural, racial y étnica en los distintos espacios formales del aprendizaje. En suma, la educación en valores y la transversalidad, son la base para la construcción de la interculturalidad educativa en futuras generaciones

A ferroelectric memristor

Memristors are continuously tunable resistors that emulate synapses. Conceptualized in the 1970s, they traditionally operate by voltage-induced displacements of matter, but the mechanism remains controversial. Purely electronic memristors have recently emerged based on well-established physical phenomena with albeit modest resistance changes. Here we demonstrate that voltage-controlled domain configurations in ferroelectric tunnel barriers yield memristive behaviour with resistance variations exceeding two orders of magnitude and a 10 ns operation speed. Using models of ferroelectric-domain nucleation and growth we explain the quasi-continuous resistance variations and derive a simple analytical expression for the memristive effect. Our results suggest new opportunities for ferroelectrics as the hardware basis of future neuromorphic computational architectures

Vapor nanobubble is the more reliable photothermal mechanism for inducing endosomal escape of siRNA without disturbing cell homeostasis

Strategies for controlled delivery of therapeutic siRNA into living cells are in high demand as endosomal escape remains the most prominent bottleneck at the intracellular level. Photothermal properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) can be used to overcome the endosomal membrane barrier upon laser irradiation by two mechanisms: endosomal rupture by mechanical energy from water vapor nanobubbles (VNBs), or permeabilization of the endosomal membrane by heat diffusion. Here we evaluated how both mechanisms influence cargo release, transfection efficiency, acute cytotoxicity and cell homeostasis. Using a siRNA/AuNP drug delivery system we found that the in vitro release of siRNA from the AuNP carrier occurs equally efficiently by VNB formation or heat generation. Heat-mediated endosomal escape happened more efficiently in cells that had more particles per endosome, resulting in variable siRNA-induced downregulation (20-50%). VNB-mediated endosomal escape did not dependent on the number of AuNP per endosome, yielding high downregulations (50-60%) independent of the cell type. Effects on cell homeostasis by whole transcriptome analysis, showed a quick recover after 24 h or 48 h for either of both photothermal mechanisms. We conclude that VNBs are more consistent to induce efficient endosomal escape and gene silencing independent of the cell type without long lasting effects on cell homeostasis