USER ANALYSIS FOR E-INCLUSION IN A BLENDED LEARNING COURSE DELIVERY CONTEXT

The authors’ purpose was to analyse users of the blended e-learning course “Improvement of ICT skills” in context of e-inclusion and determine indicators for e-inclusion facilitation. We applied a practical use probability model to perform the analysis that identified the following factors: the degree to which the instructor was willing and able to share knowledge; the degree to which the students were interested and had the capacity to learn; and the degree to which the sponsoring organization supported and promoted learning. The study was based on evaluating a group of five hundred vocational teachers who were the learners. Our results indicated that the quality of e-learning materials and environment, instructor's support, student willingness and ability to learn were attributes that could impact learning carry-over and promoted e-inclusion

Woodworking wastewater biomass effective separation and its recovery

Received: February 13th, 2021 ; Accepted: May 2nd, 2021 ; Published: August 18th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] aim of the study was to develop a new Al-based hybrid coagulant that was effective in removing wood biomass from the wastewater formed in water basins of plywood plants during hydrothermal treatment of birch wood. The organic-inorganic coagulant was prepared by interaction of high molecular polyethyleneimine (PEI) with the inorganic polyaluminium chloride-based composite coagulant (KHPAC) in aqueous medium. Owing to the hybrid nature, the developed coagulant could simultaneously perform both the coagulation and flocculation function. The influence of a hybrid coagulant composition, its dosage, pH and a temperature on the efficiency of wastewater biomass separation was investigated. The best coagulationflocculation efficiency was achieved with the hybrid coagulant having a mass ratio of PEI/KHPAC equal to 0.3–0.5 and at the optimal dosage of 70–80 mg L -1 , reaching 97% yield of the total wood biomass and 60% yield of the lignin recovery. The efficient dosage of PEI and KHPAC in hybrid coagulant was about 1.4–1.8 and 1.7–2.2 times lower than if these coagulants/flocculants were used alone. As a result of the coagulation-flocculation process, wood biomass sludge is formed, which is a sufficiently large source of renewable organic matter, with the potential to obtain value-added products. The components of the biomass sludge were found to have surface activity and binder properties, as well as cation exchange capacity. Based on these properties, its ability to structure dusty soil particles with the formation of mechanically resistant soil aggregates was studied

NEW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY DUST SUPPRESSANT BASED ON LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS FROM WOOD PROCESSING WASTEWATER

In this work, the possibility of usage of lignocellulosic biomass derived from wood processing wastewater as an environmentally friendly dust suppressant was studied. To increase the efficiency of the recovery of lignocellulosic biomass, a new developed composite coagulant, representing a polymer-colloid complex of polyethyleneimine with polyvalent metal ions, was applied. The effectiveness of the composite coagulant was examined using a model solution simulating the wastewater of hydrothermal treatment of birch wood. The optimum content of PEI in the composite coagulant was found to be 25-35%. At the optimal composite coagulant dosage and pH value, the yield of the total wood biomass achieved 97%, but the extraction of lignin and lignin-like substances was more than 65%. Due to the polymeric and polyfunctional nature, the recovered wood biomass had glue properties. Taking into account the fact that the dust at the surface of unpaved roads poses considerable environmental problems, the biomass was tested as a structuring agent for sandy and model sandy-clay soils. The obtained results have shown that the separated lignocellulosic biomass was capable of forming large sandy aggregates that were able to decrease the dusty soil blowing off from the unpaved road surface

Organizational innovation for SME'S: a model for Latvia

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can be a significant source of innovation in small economies. SMEs face challenges of limited capacity, personnel and resources for long-term investments. Additionally, they might not see and understand the benefits of innovation. Implementation of organizational innovation (OI) could give such enterprises an opportunity to improve competitiveness and develop other types of innovation. The purpose of this study is to develop a model, explaining OI through such factors as organizational culture (OC) and knowledge management (KM) in SMEs via an empirical study across various industries. Surveying 600 SMEs in Latvia, the authors explore the contribution of organizational factors - cooperation, trust, inclusive decision making, result orientation and long-term strategic planning, as well as knowledge management and organizational learning processes to OI performance. The authors propose a conceptual model in several steps, the current step focuses on Organizational Innovation Analysis through Regression Methods and on a final step a whole model for all kinds of Innovation outputs (not only organizational) will be designed through Structural Equation Modelling. After current analysis the influence of Human/Individual values over Organizational Innovation seems to be confirmed

POLYELECTROLYTE COMPLEX NANOPARTICLES OF SOLUBLE LIGNIN AND CHITOSAN AS INTERFACIAL MODIFIER

A water-soluble non-stoichiometric polyelectrolyte complex (LCP) was obtained as a result of the interaction of oppositely charged kraft lignin and high molecular chitosan by mixing their dilute water solutions. The sizes of the LCP nanoparticles were characterized by a bimodal distribution at pH 6, and their values were essentially smaller than the sizes of the chitosan particles. It was found that the LCP nanoparticles were characterized by remarkably lower values of surface tension at the air-water and the water-organic liquid interface in comparison with the initial biopolymers. With decreasing pH and increasing concentration of the LCP nanoparticles in the water solution, their adsorption ability at the interfaces was enhanced. The interface tension at the water-heptane interface changed non-linearly with increasing the polyelectrolyte complex concentration that was associated with the “saturation” effect. The dependence of the ability of the LPC nanoparticles to stabilize oil-in-water emulsion on pH values of the water phase was found.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES WITH THE ACTIVATED WOOD FILLER

The aim of the research was a study of the effect of activation of birch sawdust microparticles with a dilute solution of sodium hydroxide at a low temperature on mechanical properties and water sorption of the obtained wood plastic composite (WPC) samples obtained from a by-product of a domestic wood mechanical processing and a recycled polymer municipal waste. It was found that the mechanical (tensile, bending) properties of the WPC samples filled with the activated birch sawdust microparticles were higher than those of the samples filled with the initial sawdust. The sorption and swelling degree of the WPC samples with the activated filler were lower than those for the samples with the initial sawdust. However, the difference in the values of the water sorption and the swelling degree for the samples filled with the activated and initial wood microparticles were relatively low in comparison with the observed essential difference in their mechanical properties. This fact was explained by the enhanced content of carbonyl groups in the activated sawdust microparticles that are able to absorb water

A firm’s organizational innovation and organizational learning abilities

Many recent studies are dedicated to the problem of innovation as a mean of improving a firm’s overall performance. Various kinds of innovation in a firm usually are closely interrelated with each other. While the majority of studies focus on technological - product and process - innovation, the investigation of non-technological - marketing and organizational - innovation (ORI), has increasingly attracted the interest of researchers during the last decade. Organizational culture and organizational learning are important drivers of such innovation. For instance, a collaborative culture, trust and open-mindedness encourage new initiatives and ideas, while learning helps not just to improve skillsets and abilities of individual employees, but can also greatly contribute to strategic knowledge management and building a resilient, innovative organization. This study examines the relationship between a firm’s organizational learning ability and its organizational innovation performance. The authors consider such factors as Learning Intention – seeing learning as a key investment and organizational commitment to it, and Openness - open-mindedness and organizational culture open to new ideas and worldviews. This study contributes to the theory of ORI by finding the answer to the question what impact these factors could have on ORI development in a firm. The findings are based on a quantitative analysis of more than 150 small and medium-sized enterprises surveyed in Russia and Latvia. The survey questions measuring ORI performance were developed in line with the widely used definition introduced in the OECD - Eurostat Oslo Manual. The scales for organizational learning were adopted from the previous studies elaborated this area of a firm activity. The survey compared a firm’s innovation performance to that of its closest competitors. This research demonstrates that some of the elements of organizational learning positively influence ORI activity. The results also suggest that Latvian companies differ from Russian ones in terms of their organizational learning intention

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDUSTRIAL LIGNOSULFONATES AND SOME THEIR PROPERTIES

The aim was to compare the chemical composition and some properties of three industrial lignosulfonates produced as a by-product at three pulp and paper mills (Russia). Using the classical methods of lignin chemistry, it was found that there were differences in the elemental composition and the content of functional groups of the industrial lignosulfonates, but in general, they were not very significant. The Kondopoga lignosulfonates contained the highest content of methoxy, aliphatic hydroxyl groups and carbonyl groups. The Vyborg lignosulfonates had the highest degree of sulfonation and the lowest content of carbonyl groups. The content of the functional groups in the chemical composition of the Syassky lignosulfonates was intermediate between the functional composition of the Vyborg and Kondopoga lignosulfonates. The Vyborg lignosulfonates had the lowest values of the viscosity average molecular mass, dynamic viscosity and surface tension at the air-water interface in comparison with these parameters of the Kondopoga and Syassky lignosulfonates

EFFECT OF THE ACIDIC TREATMENT OF DOMESTIC WOOD RESIDUE ON BIOCOMPOSITE WETTABILITY AND MOISTURE SORPTION PROPERTIES

The aim of the work was to evaluate the effect of the acidic treatment temperature of aspen sawdust as a filler on the moisture sorption, wetting and mechanical properties of wood-polymer composites. Aspen wood sawdust was treated with the dilute hydrochloric acid solution at 60oC and 90oC during 5 h. Both the treated particles and the filled composites were studied in terms of moisture sorption and wettability; their surface free energy was calculated using the Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble (OWRK) approach. The obtained results have shown that the acidic treatment of aspen wood sawdust at 90oC leads to an increase in its hydrophobicity that decreases the wettability and moisture sorption of the obtained composite and increases its mechanical properties