Discourse in virtual cross-cultural communication: a dialogue of cultures or a clash of mentalities? (A case study research in EFL education in Russia)

This paper presents a case study research based on the experience of Moscow State University of using cross-cultural telecommunication projects as a "testing ground" for developing students' cross-cultural communicative competence. This competence was assessed in terms of success / failure of cross-cultural interaction. The transcripts of forums and chats have been analyzed as well as the results of the survey of students-participants, aimed at getting their opinion about the project ("student satisfaction" factor)

Wave turbulence in the two-layer ocean model

This paper looks at the two-layer ocean model from a wave turbulence perspective. A symmetric form of the two-layer kinetic equation for Rossby waves is derived using canonical variables, allowing the turbulent cascade of energy between the barotropic and baroclinic modes to be studied. It turns out that energy is transferred via local triad interactions from the large-scale baroclinic modes to the baroclinic and barotropic modes at the Rossby deformation scale. From there it is then transferred to the large-scale barotropic modes via a nonlocal inverse transfer. Using scale separation a sys- tem of coupled equations were obtained for the small-scale baroclinic component and the large-scale barotropic component. Since the total energy of the small-scale component is not conserved, but the total barotropic plus baroclinic energy is conserved, the baroclinic energy loss at small scales will be compensated by the growth of the barotropic energy at large scales. It is found that this transfer is mostly anisotropic and mostly to the zonal component

Large-scale drift and Rossby wave turbulence

We study drift/Rossby wave turbulence described by the large-scale limit of the Charney–Hasegawa–Mima equation. We define the zonal and meridional regions as $Z:= \{{\bf{k}}\,:| {k}_{y}| \gt \sqrt{3}{k}_{x}\}$ and $M:= \{{\bf{k}}\,:| {k}_{y}| \lt \sqrt{3}{k}_{x}\}$ respectively, where ${\bf{k}}=({k}_{x},{k}_{y})$ is in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic field such that k x is along the isopycnals and k y is along the plasma density gradient. We prove that the only types of resonant triads allowed are $M\leftrightarrow M+Z$ and $Z\leftrightarrow Z+Z$. Therefore, if the spectrum of weak large-scale drift/Rossby turbulence is initially in Z it will remain in Z indefinitely. We present a generalised Fjørtoft's argument to find transfer directions for the quadratic invariants in the two-dimensional ${\bf{k}}$-space. Using direct numerical simulations, we test and confirm our theoretical predictions for weak large-scale drift/Rossby turbulence, and establish qualitative differences with cases when turbulence is strong. We demonstrate that the qualitative features of the large-scale limit survive when the typical turbulent scale is only moderately greater than the Larmor/Rossby radius

Quadratic invariants for discrete clusters of weakly interacting waves

We consider discrete clusters of quasi-resonant triads arising from a Hamiltonian three-wave equation. A cluster consists of N modes forming a total of M connected triads. We investigate the problem of constructing a functionally independent set of quadratic constants of motion. We show that this problem is equivalent to an underlying basic linear problem, consisting of finding the null space of a rectangular M × N matrix with entries 1, −1 and 0. In particular, we prove that the number of independent quadratic invariants is equal to J ≡ N − M* ≥ N − M, where M* is the number of linearly independent rows in Thus, the problem of finding all independent quadratic invariants is reduced to a linear algebra problem in the Hamiltonian case. We establish that the properties of the quadratic invariants (e.g., locality) are related to the topological properties of the clusters (e.g., types of linkage). To do so, we formulate an algorithm for decomposing large clusters into smaller ones and show how various invariants are related to certain parts of a cluster, including the basic structures leading to M* < M. We illustrate our findings by presenting examples from the Charney–Hasegawa–Mima wave model, and by showing a classification of small (up to three-triad) clusters

The energy cascade of surface wave turbulence: toward identifying the active wave coupling

We investigate experimentally turbulence of surface gravity waves in the Coriolis facility in Grenoble by using both high sensitivity local probes and a time and space resolved stereoscopic reconstruction of the water surface. We show that the water deformation is made of the superposition of weakly nonlinear waves following the linear dispersion relation and of bound waves resulting from non resonant triadic interaction. Although the theory predicts a 4-wave resonant coupling supporting the presence of an inverse cascade of wave action, we do not observe such inverse cascade. We investigate 4-wave coupling by computing the tricoherence i.e. 4-wave correlations. We observed very weak values of the tricoherence at the frequencies excited on the linear dispersion relation that are consistent with the hypothesis of weak coupling underlying the weak turbulence theory.Comment: proceedings of the Euromech-Ercoftac workshop "Turbulent Cascades II" organized in Ecole Centrale de Lyon in december 201

Direction of improvement of the motivation system of railway transport personnel in the conditions of crisis

Запропоновано удосконалення проведення атестації персоналу залізничного транспорту як шлях до більш справедливого та об’єктивного їх оцінювання з метою удосконалення мотивації до праці.The article offers improvement of certification of railway staff as a way to more just and objective evaluation with the aim of improving motivation to work

Superconductivity in the Cuprates as a Consequence of Antiferromagnetism and a Large Hole Density of States

We briefly review a theory for the cuprates that has been recently proposed based on the movement and interaction of holes in antiferromagnetic (AF) backgrounds. A robust peak in the hole density of states (DOS) is crucial to produce a large critical temperature once a source of hole attraction is identified. The predictions of this scenario are compared with experiments. The stability of the calculations after modifying some of the original assumptions is addressed. We find that if the dispersion is changed from an antiferromagnetic band at half-filling to a tight binding $cosk_x + cosk_y$ narrow band at $=0.87$, the main conclusions of the approach remain basically the same i.e. superconductivity appears in the $d_{x^2 - y^2}$-channel and $T_c$ is enhanced by a large DOS. The main features distinguishing these ideas from more standard theories based on antiferromagnetic correlations are here discussed.Comment: RevTex, 7 pages, 5 figures are available on reques

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION: THE SYNTHESIS OF TRADITIONAL FORMAT AND E-LEARNING (AN EXPERIENCE OF DEVELOPING A NEW MODEL OF A LECTURE COURSE)

The Russian system of education is undergoing a process of modernization where ICT play a decisive role. It presupposes not only providing advanced technical equipment but also integrating technologies into a traditional teaching and learning process based on a well-developed and scholarly-proven methodology. A sound didactic solution is the introduction of an element of e-learning for structuring and monitoring students’ autonomous active study.A lecture course in a traditional format can be transformed into a mode of blended learning via combining classroom face-to-face teaching with students’ self-preparation in an interactive learning environment to enhance the efficacy the educational process. An experience of such a transformation is considered