Identification of consumer development trends in a major city: a market-based approach

The subject matter of this article consists in a comparative analysis of key indicators of consumer market development in major cities of various Subjects of the Russian Federation, which are located in the same macro-region, taking the first three places in the regional hierarchy according to the population of the RF Subject territory, comprising the centres of large urban agglomerations and making a significant contribution to the formation of regional indicators of socio-economic development. The article is based on Federal State Statistics Service data on three RF Subjects namely, Perm Krai, Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions covering the period from 2007 to 2015. The study is based on the analysis, classification and systematisation of the information of theoretical sources and statistical data relating to the study, as well as on the presentation of the author’s approaches and conclusions. Thus, within the framework of the research, the author considers different theoretical approaches to the consumer market and proposes a definition for the consumer market of a major city, taking into account the specifics of its functioning as an element of the economy of the city. With regard to the identification of development trends, in the framework of the study, new indices have been applied, such as “index of concentration of stationary retail establishments”, “index of concentration of non-stationary retail establishments”, “index of concentration of public canteens, snack bars”, “index of concentration of canteens owned by the educational institutions, organisations, industrial enterprises” and “index of concentration of restaurants, cafes, bars”. These indices characterise the degree of concentration of different types of retail establishments and catering establishments within a defined territory. According to the research, all cities included in the scope of the study have been grouped according to the identified consumer market development trends. The author has also developed a number of recommendations for the public authorities and local governments for improving the consumer markets of studied cities

Demystifying AI: a robot-mediated outreach program

Libraries are reinventing themselves to stay relevant. As librarians, we recognize the need to be creative to facilitate student learning in the digital age. In February 2023, the Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar library tested a new outreach program in collaboration with the Robotics club. It was intended for the whole community but primarily for students from majors other than computer science, and relatively unfamiliar with coding and AI concepts. The purpose was to bring more students to the library, let them connect with each other, see a hi-tech side of library resources, try new things, engage with simple coding and unveil the mystery of machine learning. The poster presents an overview of the event and its structure, illustrate what\u27s needed to organize such a program, and highlights key learnings from the cross-campus collaboration

Optimizing Our Teaching: Hybrid Mode of Instruction

The digital revolution changes the way we teach and learn. This paper introduces a concept of a Hybrid course structure. It aims to show the benefits of blended learning and describes the course design used at the Bibliothèque Saint-Jean (BSJ), University of Alberta (U of A). We seek to assist other librarians in their choice of instructional model by providing a rational for combining onsite and online instruction, and by giving recommendations for the development and implementation of a hybrid course

Generalized Scattering-Based Stabilization of Nonlinear Interconnected Systems

The research presented in this thesis is aimed at development of new methods and techniques for stability analysis and stabilization of interconnections of nonlinear systems, in particular, in the presence of communication delays. Based on the conic systems\u27 formalism, we extend the notion of conicity for the non-planar case where the dimension of the cone\u27s central subspace may be greater than one. One of the advantages of the notion of non-planar conicity is that any dissipative system with a quadratic supply rate can be represented as a non-planar conic system; specifically, its central subspace and radius can be calculated using an algorithm developed in this thesis. For a feedback interconnection of two non-planar conic systems, a graph separation condition for finite-gain L2-stability is established in terms of central subspaces and radii of the subsystems\u27 non-planar cones. Subsequently, a generalized version of the scattering transformation is developed which is applicable to non-planar conic systems. The transformation allows for rendering the dynamics of a non-planar conic system into a prescribed cone with compatible dimensions; the corresponding design algorithm is presented. The ability of the generalized scattering transformation to change the parameters of a system\u27s cone can be used for stabilization of interconnections of non-planar conic systems. For interconnections without communication delays, stabilization is achieved through the design of a scattering transformation that guarantees the fulfilment of the graph separation stability condition. For interconnected systems with communication delays, scattering transformations are designed on both sides of communication channel in a way that guarantees the overall stability through fulfilment of the small gain stability condition. Application to stabilization of bilateral teleoperators with multiple heterogeneous communication delays is briefly discussed. Next, the coupled stability problem is addressed based on the proposed scattering based stabilization techniques. The coupled stability problem is one of the most fundamental problems in robotics. It requires to guarantee stability of a controlled manipulator in contact with an environment whose dynamics are unknown, or at least not known precisely. We present a scattering-based design procedure that guarantees coupled stability while at the same time does not affect the robot\u27s trajectory tracking performance in free space. A detailed design example is presented that demonstrates the capabilities of the scattering-based design approach, as well as its advantages in comparison with more conventional passivity-based approaches. Finally, the generalized scattering-based technique is applied to the problem of stabilization of complex interconnections of dissipative systems with quadratic supply rates in the presence of multiple heterogeneous constant time delays. Our approach is to design local scattering transformations that guarantee the fulfilment of a multi-dimensional small-gain stability condition for the interconnected system. A numerical example is presented that illustrates the capabilities of the proposed design method

Making Effective Classroom Assignments

Today, probably more than in any other time, teachers are giving their students less and less homework. This is happening not because teachers believe less in giving assignments, but rather because teachers are finding that many students are not completing them

A Model for Faculty In-Service in the Secondary Reading Program

The issue of developing effective in-service education within the secondary reading program is a concern for most curriculum supervisors and principals. While the reading program in the secondary school may be limited or partial in scope, the consequences of effective reading instruction extend into the content areas; consequently, all teachers need to become involved in the improvement of instruction in so far as reading affects their discipline

High School Discipline Problems and Reading Disability

In the past ten years vandalism, impertinence to teachers and general classroom disturbances have increased tremendously. These are only a few of the types of discipline problems that teachers and administrators are faced with daily. The secondary schools seem to be the most prominent area of trouble. If at all possible, it is up to these high school classroom teachers to handle the discipline problems they face. Sending students to the office, suspensions, and expulsions are often not the answer for chronic offenders. They simply meet these punishments with resentment and defiance. Too many times they just return to the classroom, only to repeat their disruptive actions. So it is in the classroom that the problem must be solved. In order to do this, the teacher must understand what discipline involves and how to use it most effectively. Correcting classroom environment and finding the cause of behavioral problems are also essential. Many studies have shown that reading problems in students often are the cause for discipline problems in those same students. Understanding discipline and coordinating it with correcting reading deficiencies would be a major step toward improving discipline problems

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF GAS FLOW WITHIN A MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL

Numerical analysis and modelling of gas flow within a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill has the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency of design and performance of operation for landfill gas (LFG) extraction and utilization projects. Over recent decades, several numerical models and software packages have been developed and used to describe the movement and distribution of fluids in landfills. However, for the most part, these models have failed to gain widespread use in the industry because of a number of limitations. Available simple models implement a simple theoretical basis in the numerical solution, for example various approaches that treat the landfilled waste fill purely as a porous medium with the conservation of mass inherently assumed and the ongoing gas generation within the landfill thus ignored. Alternatively, researchers have developed some highly complex models whose use is rendered difficult as a result of the uncertainty associated with the large number of required inputs. Ultimately, more efficient design and operation of well-fields for LFG extraction will provide a benefit in the cost of construction and efficiency of operation as well as with a reduced potential of underground fire resulting from over-pumping or localized excessive wellhead vacuum. Thus, the development of tools for improved understanding and prediction of the gas flows and pressure distribution within MSW will potentially enhance operation of LFG extraction systems at existing landfills as well as the design for new LFG projects. In the simplest terms, a more accurate estimate of the relationship between flow rates and wellhead vacuum will allow for improved analysis of the network of LFG extraction wells, header pipes and valves and blowers. The research described in this thesis was intended to evaluate the error introduced into estimates of the intrinsic permeability of waste from LFG pumping tests if the ongoing gas generation within the landfilled MSW is ignored when the pumping tests are evaluated to yield estimates of the permeability. The City of Saskatoon’s Spadina Landfill Site was chosen as the research site. The landfill contains over six million tonnes of waste of age ranging from days and weeks old to almost 60 years and which continue to generate significant landfill gas. It was determined that during the pumping tests, the estimated volume of gas generated within the radius of influence of each well during the time of pumping ranged from 20% to 97% of the total volume of the gas actually pumped during the time of the pumping, depending on the well and the flow rate in question. Fleming (2009) reported that the landfill is estimated to generate about 250[m3/hour] of landfill gas containing up to 60% of methane. Two different approaches were used to simulate gas flow in the unsaturated waste fill. The first modelling tool was the GeoStudio 2007 software suite. The second approach used a very simple 1-dimensional axisymmetric finite difference (1-D FD) solution to estimate the radial distribution of pressures within the waste associated with gas flow toward an applied wellhead vacuum under conditions where the waste fill is estimated to generate landfill gas at a constant rate per unit volume. This 1-D FD solution was used to compare the flow rate and pressure distribution in the waste with that predicted using widely-available geotechnical software for 2-dimensional axisymmetric flow in an unsaturated porous medium. It is proposed that the correction charts so developed may represent a first step toward a reliable method that would enable such widely used software to be used with a correction factor to enable improved simulations of flow and pressure within the system. The results from both approaches support the previously reported intrinsic permeability values determined for the Spadina Landfill. The 1-D FD solution results show that there is some effect of the gas generation on the best-fit estimates of the value of intrinsic permeability. In addition, the 1-D FD solution shows better fit to the field data (when the gas generation is taken into account) compared with simulations carried out using AIR/W (GeoStudio 2007). Nevertheless, the AIR/W computer package was found to be simple, powerful and intuitive for simulating two-phase flow toward LFG extraction wells. The addition of an option to include a gas generation term in the commercial software package would enable more accurate results for evaluation of flow of landfill gas, however as a first step in this direction, charts of correction factors are proposed

Eliminate Discipline Problems Through Grouping

A troublesome issue that many teachers face is getting their students to complete in-class discussions or writing assignments. When students work independently on a task, many are likely to be lost or uninterested in what they are doing and become frustrated. This frustration leads to despair, resignation or hostility, which in turn can cause discipline problems

The growth of the digital retail services market in a down economy: problems and prospects

Rapid developments of information technologies and transition to the digital national economy require consumers and business communities to reconsider their behavior patterns. In this case the past 2020 served as a digitization catalyst. The authors proceed with the research of the digital services market and its segments. In the framework of the study, of particular interest is the digital retail services market development in a down national economy in 2020, caused by the new Covid-19 coronavirus infection pandemic. Retail services market is a promising and the most important market segment, integrated into a weekly human life cycle providing goods on the B2C market. The aim of the research is to reveal trends in the digital retail services development in a down economy and to identify the priority areas for this digital market segment development in the medium term. The research objectives are to consider the development trends of online stores and the relevance of marketplaces and mobile applications in the conditions of changing consumer behavior patterns, to identify which prospects of retail development to target in the context of national digitization. The methodological basis of the research comprises analysis, grouping and comparison. The forced change in the consumer behavior patterns and the introduction of a number of restrictions for entrepreneurs have led to changes in the entire retail market landscape and a shift to the digital segment. Additionally, the business community has also changed. A number of retail businesses were forced to withdraw from the market as it was impossible to carryout their activities under new conditions