Intellectual Humility in Public Discussion

In this article, the authors analyze intellectual humility as a cognitive and a communicative virtue. Public discussions on controversial topics – religious and scientific debates included – are becoming an increasingly important part of social life. They are viewed as important for the future of democratic societies as political procedures traditionally associated with democracy. In order to make a public dialogue more beneficial for the society it is essential to understand what obstacles may arise in its way and what the possible strategies to overcome them are. One of such behavioral strategies is intellectual humility. Humility has a long history of being recognized as a virtue. The authors analyze its potential for contemporary societies, undertake etymological analysis and compare intellectual humility to other associated intellectual virtues and vices such as open-mindedness and intellectual hubris. The core point of this article is that prejudiced cognition is bound to become limited or outright false, whereas intellectually humble research and dialogue efforts lead to true understanding – both cognitive and interpersonal. Intellectual humility is perceived as an especially valuable asset for any researcher, administrator or public speaker.     Keywords: Intellectual humility, public dialogue, cognition, objectivity, intersubjectivity, science, religion, democracy, research ethics

Electron-electron interaction in carbon nanostructures

The electron-electron interaction in carbon nanostructures was studied. A new method which allows to determine the electron-electron interaction constant $\lambda_c$ from the analysis of quantum correction to the magnetic susceptibility and the magnetoresistance was developed. Three types of carbon materials: arc-produced multiwalled carbon nanotubes (arc-MWNTs), CVD-produced catalytic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs) and pyrolytic carbon were used for investigation. We found that $\lambda_c$=0.2 for arc-MWNTs (before and after bromination treatment); $\lambda_c$ = 0.1 for pyrolytic graphite; $\lambda_c >$ 0 for c-MWNTs. We conclude that the curvature of graphene layers in carbon nanostructures leads to the increase of the electron-electron interaction constant $\lambda_c$.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Electron Correlation in New Materials and Nanosystems, NATO Science Series II, Springer, 200

Cognitive Approach in Castings’ Quality Control

Every year production volume of castings grows, especially grows production volume of non-ferrous metals, thanks to aluminium. As a result, requirements to castings quality also increase. Foundry men from all over the world put all their efforts to manage the problem of casting defects. In this article the authors present an approach based on the use of cognitive models that help to visualize inner cause-and-effect relations leading to casting defects in the foundry process. The cognitive models mentioned comprise a diverse network of factors and their relations, which together thoroughly describe all the details of the foundry process and their influence on the appearance of castings’ defects and other aspects.. Moreover, the article contains an example of a simple die casting model and results of simulation. Implementation of the proposed method will help foundry men reveal the mechanism and the main reasons of casting defects formation

ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ РОССИЙСКИМ ОБРАЗОВАНИЕМ: ДЕЦЕНТРАЛИЗАЦИЯ И ДЕБЮРОКРАТИЗАЦИЯ

Trends in the world education confirm the necessity to decentralize and de-bureaucratize the national education system in order to increase the efficiency of its functioning. At the same time, the habit of trust is not removed by formalizing all educational relations and recording them exclusively in the economic or legal field. On the contrary, strengthening the attitude of educational leaders to teachers as hired workers in the “sphere of educational services” operating within the strict limits of regulatory requirements leads to the extension of this attitude to the entire educational process. It is necessary to strengthen the authority beyond the central state educational authorities, gradually transferring them to regional and municipal structures.Тренды динамики мирового образования подтверждают целесообразность децентрализации и дебюрократизации отечественной системы образования для повышения эффективности ее функционирования. При этом габитус доверия не снимается формализацией всех образовательных отношений и сведением их исключительно в экономическое или правовое поле. Напротив, укрепление отношения руководителей образования к преподавателям как к наемным работникам «сферы образовательных услуг», действующих в жестких рамках нормативных предписаний, ведет к распространению данного отношения на весь образовательный процесс. Необходимо усиливать властные полномочия вне центральных государственных органов управления образованием, постепенно передавая их в региональные и муниципальные структуры

Model for financing the agro-industrial complex of the region

The article deals with the problems of financing the agro-industrial complex of the region. A critical assessment of the current model of state support for agricultural organisations is given. It was revealed that when deciding on the allocation of subsidies, the region is guided exclusively by production indicators and does not assess the impact of subsidies on the financial condition of agricultural producers in the future. It is proposed that the assessment of the effectiveness of the provision of subsidies be supplemented in regional state programs for the development of agriculture by comparing the volumes of loans issued and the added value created for a certain period. A universal model of financing the agro-industrial complex of the Russian region has been developed, which makes it possible to choose the most effective option for the distribution of budgetary financing of agricultural organizations in a particular region

The concept of personal identity in modern socio-philosophical discourse: theoretical and methodological aspect

Relevance: The article is devoted to the socio-philosophical comprehension of the personal identity problem in the Internet. The situation of our time, characterized by “fluidity,” the variability of self-images, “masks”, has a resemblance to virtual space, which allows the individual to “try on” various social roles. The problem of personal identity requires a socio-philosophical understanding in the modern world. Purpose: to reflect the modern vision of sociologists and philosophers of the concept of personal identity, to identify the main characteristics of personal identity on the Internet. Methods of research: The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the structural and constructivist approach. This approach is based on the conception that identities are the construct of the personality itself, they can be transformed depending on the individual’s choice, while the structure of society is determined by the identities system. The main results: A modern individual can be described as an individual of mass information consumption. The study of modern socio-philosophical works of the concept of personal identity allows us to determine the following characteristics: variability associated with social context; procedural nature; structure planning; reflexivity; categorization; selection. Scientific novelty of the study lies in the author’s position, according to which the key characteristics of personal identity include: variability related to the social context; procedural nature; construction; categorization; choice. Directions for future research: in further research, the problem of personal identity in the conditions of Internet communication will be considered by us in the context of the dichotomies “private-public”, “I-Other”, which will make it possible to understand how personal identity is formed and transformed in the modern Internet

The Development of Early Pottery in the Forest Zone of the Middle Volga Region (Eastern Europe)

The article is devoted to the Neolithisation in the forest zone of the Middle Volga River basin. The different conceptions of the process are considered. The archaeological materials from different sites located on this territory and neighbouring regions have been compared. The question was raised regarding animal domestication and its attributes in the forest zone of the Volga region in the Neolithic period. The hypothesis that pottery spread in the forest zone of the Middle Volga region under the influence of cultures from a forest-steppe zone of the Volga region was examined, and the chronological frame of this process was determined. However, the process has been essentially one of migration and was not autochthonous. The mobile lifestyle of early Neolithic hunters played a major part in their movements and did not connect with a productive economy (i.e. domestication). An indicator of these changes is pottery style. For the forest zone of the Middle Volga region, the earliest Neolithic vessels are characterized by rare ornamental patterns that appeared earlier than other types