From library co-operation to consortia : comparing experiences in the European Union with the Russian Federation

Copeter is one of the few Tempus/Tacis projects about consortium building: bringing libraries together in a consortium in order to achieve common goals. This article will attempt to answer three main questions: 1. What factors create good library co-operation? 2. What are the conditions for success? 3. Is the Copeter consortium fulfilling these requirements? Tempus is a European Community (EC) programme for the development in higher education systems through co-operation in three specific regions in/or adjacent to Europe: the Balkan countries (CARDS), the Mediterranean countries (MEDA) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (TACIS). Copeter is a project for co-operative management of electronic document provision between three universities in St. Petersburg (Russia). The partners are: ● Russia • St. Petersburg State Technical University (STU), project co-ordinator • Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University (ETU) • St.Petersburg State University of Economy and Finance (FINEK) ● European Union • University of Antwerp (UA), Belgium, project contractor to the EU • Maastricht University (UM, Netherlands The Copeter project (2002-2004) has five tracks: • Consortium building in general • Library and consortia management • Union catalogue • Electronic document ordering • Electronic document suppl

Specifics of the development of students’ creative abilities in the context of higher education

This study examines the problems of the development of students’ creative abilities, their structure and specifics, similarities and differences from creativity. The aim of the research is theoretical and empirical consideration of the specifics of students’ creative abilities and their development. The problems of the essence of creative abilities, the role of their formation in the young age, specific methods and techniques are revealed. The research methodology and its algorithm were selected due to the purpose of the study. Experimental work included a complex psychological and pedagogical experiment, consisting of the indicative, formative and control stages. The study of students’ creative abilities was carried out on the basis of the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “The Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia” (RUDN). An experimental and a control group were formed, each included 45 people, the sampling is valid for all significant characteristics. The results of the study allow us to conclude that the training forms are especially effective in the development of students’ creative abilities. The level of development of the teacher’s creative abilities is a significant factor in the formation of students’ creative abilities.

The improvement of students’ stress resistance with the help of the development of self-regulation during university studies

The article is devoted to the urgent problem of the formation of stress resistance in university students with the help of self-regulation training. The study highlights the specifics of examination of this phenomenon in modern science, the structure of stress resistance, and the significance and characteristics of the development of students’ stress resistance. The article also emphasizes the fact that the development of the given asset is especially effective within the self-regulation training, which is an effective method for improving the emotional-volitional component of students’ personality. The article indicates that the developed self-regulation of students and, in particular, personal self-regulation are important for the development of stress resistance. The research is aimed at studying the specifics of university students’ stress resistance with the help of self-regulation training. To achieve the goal of the research, the experiment aimed at studying the state and dynamics of students’ stress resistance was developed and carried out. The research methodology and its algorithm were selected, which included a complex psychological and pedagogical experiment and tracking the state and dynamics of stress resistance before and after the formative influence. The study was carried out at the Department of Social Pedagogy of the Institute of Foreign Languages, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. The study involved 56 students, the sample is representative in terms of gender and other characteristics. The results of the study allow the authors to conclude that self-regulation training is an effective method for the formation of stress resistance in students.

Specifics of the development of students’ creative abilities in the context of higher education

This study examines the problems of the development of students’ creative abilities, their structure and specifics, similarities and differences from creativity. The aim of the research is theoretical and empirical consideration of the specifics of students’ creative abilities and their development. The problems of the essence of creative abilities, the role of their formation in the young age, specific methods and techniques are revealed. The research methodology and its algorithm were selected due to the purpose of the study. Experimental work included a complex psychological and pedagogical experiment, consisting of the indicative, formative and control stages. The study of students’ creative abilities was carried out on the basis of the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “The Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia” (RUDN). An experimental and a control group were formed, each included 45 people, the sampling is valid for all significant characteristics. The results of the study allow us to conclude that the training forms are especially effective in the development of students’ creative abilities. The level of development of the teacher’s creative abilities is a significant factor in the formation of students’ creative abilities.

Formation of students’ social competence in the context of additional vocational education

The article is devoted to the urgent problem of the formation of students’ social competence while receiving additional vocational education. The study highlights the specifics of the examination of this phenomenon in modern science and the significance of the development of students’ social competence. The article also emphasizes the fact that the development of the given asset is especially effective within the training activity in addition to the traditional educational environment of a university, in particular, in the context of the various forms of additional vocational education. The research is aimed at studying the specifics of the formation of students’ social competence while receiving additional vocational education. To achieve the goal of the research, an experiment aimed at studying the state and dynamics of students’ social competence was developed and carried out. The research methodology and its algorithm were selected, which include a complex psychological and pedagogical experiment and tracking the state and dynamics of social competence before and after the formative influence. The study was carried out at the Department of Social Pedagogy of the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. The study involved 40 students; the sample was representative in terms of gender and other characteristics. The results of the study allow concluding that training is an effective method for the formation of students’ social competence in the context of additional vocational education. The results of the experiment and their interpretation confirm this hypothesis.

THE SMART LIBRARY CONCEPT IN RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES: THE SYNERGY OF OPEN SCIENCE AND EDUCATION 5.0

The concept of “smart library” was put forward and applied by Aittolaet al. of the Oulu University Library in Finland as early as 2003. At that time, “smart” referred to the use of wireless LAN technology in a library to provide users with an electronic map for searching for books, quickly locating the correct bookshelf, and finding the best path to i

Specifics of the development of students’ creative abilities in the context of higher education

This study examines the problems of the development of students’ creative abilities, their structure and specifics, similarities and differences from creativity. The aim of the research is theoretical and empirical consideration of the specifics of students’ creative abilities and their development. The problems of the essence of creative abilities, the role of their formation in the young age, specific methods and techniques are revealed. The research methodology and its algorithm were selected due to the purpose of the study. Experimental work included a complex psychological and pedagogical experiment, consisting of the indicative, formative and control stages. The study of students’ creative abilities was carried out on the basis of the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “The Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia” (RUDN). An experimental and a control group were formed, each included 45 people, the sampling is valid for all significant characteristics. The results of the study allow us to conclude that the training forms are especially effective in the development of students’ creative abilities. The level of development of the teacher’s creative abilities is a significant factor in the formation of students’ creative abilities.

Improvement of value orientations in the process of forming the professional competence of teachers

This study examines the issues of value orientations of a teacher and their development as an integral part of professional competence. We drew attention to the relationship between the value orientations and the value sphere within the process of teacher’s professional development, the conditionality of professional competence by the value system. The aim of the research is the theoretical and empirical study of value orientations as a component of the professional competence of teachers. Particular attention is paid to the role and significance of creativity in the teaching performance. Based on the analysis of current literary sources, we examined the phenomenon of professional creativity of a teacher, made an attempt to define this concept and considered its structure and structural components. The research methodology and its algorithm were selected due to the purpose of the study. Experimental work included a complex psychological and pedagogical experiment and diagnostics of the stated parameters before and after the implementation of the advanced training. The study was carried out on the basis of the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “The Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia” (RUDN). The results of the study allow us to conclude that there is a significant relationship between the professional creativity of a teacher and the effectiveness of professional performance, which is confirmed by the results of statistical processing of the data obtained. In the Russian psychological and pedagogical literature on the problem of professional competence two basic concepts are discussed, competence and competency. Researchers argue that these concepts are multidimensional and systemic in nature. In Russia, the difference between these concepts is most thoroughly substantiated in the glossary of the Federal State Educational Standard. It is indicated that competencies consist of knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as of practical experience. The ability to apply them in professional activities is called competence.

Machine vs Human Translation in the Synergetic Translation Space

The paper focuses on English-to-Russian translations of patent applications on the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). A comparative analysis of patent applications is performed by using translations made with the help of the WIPO Translate tool and human translators within the framework of the synergetic translation space concept encompassing the domains of the author's intensions, text content and composition, energy, translator, recipient, and the translation acceptability notion. The translation erratology aspects were considered from the point of view of the semantic, referential, and syntactic ambiguity within the domains of content-composition and energy space. In the domain of the author, the intention to convey some technical information is revealed, while its rendering in the content-composition and energy domains depends on whether the translation is made by a person or a machine. Genre- and composition-related specifics have been rendered in both cases while machine translation errors have been proven to result from the semantic, referential, or syntactic ambiguity, and this is when the translated output is generally considered unacceptable by the recipient. The results obtained can be used for editing machine translations of patent documentation, assessing the quality of technical documentation translation that is referred to other specific genre conventions

Investigation of final language assessment for pre-service teachers of English in the Russian educational context: a case study

This research explores the final assessment of language competence of future foreign language (FL) teachers (university graduates) in the Russian educational context. Foreign Language teacher training has always been an essential part of Russian education and its importance increased in the 1990s. Later however, with significant educational reforms at primary and secondary school level, teacher training became an area of least attention and interest from the Ministry of Education of Russia and local education authorities. This research is based on the belief that no school reforms are possible without investing in teachers and, therefore, in initial and in-service teacher education, with assessment being one of its key dimensions. The study aims to describe optimal methods of assessing language competence of novice teachers of English as a FL in Russia. For this purpose, the following objectives have been achieved: - a description of current notions of FL teacher language competence, based on analyses of previous theoretical and empirical research; - design of exam evaluation tools – 3 questionnaires and an interview framework, and their use in data collection from various stakeholders in a Russian state pedagogical university; - identification of strengths and weaknesses of the current Final language assessment; - description of possible alternative options for the Final Language Examination and discussion of their impact on different stakeholders. The research follows a mixed-methods design with both qualitative and quantitative data collected and discussed. The study involves various stakeholders at different levels and from different backgrounds – university students, Final Exam takers; Exam designers and administrators, and also teachers of English who provided their valuable vision of the current Final Language Examination and its possible alternatives. The data obtained through surveys and interviews allows for tentative conclusions on the current Language Examination’s appropriacy and relevance, and provides ground for a multi-faceted analysis of the Exam’s strong points and weaknesses, and for development of alternative assessment tasks. The research concludes by viewing possible changes in the Exam as likely and less likely to happen in the near future, based on analysis of the Russian higher education context