За данните и пътя към големите данни

Author(s): Pavel Azalov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2020

Over the past two decades, data turned into big data. The term big data encompasses the exponential growth of all data but most notably, the semistructured and unstructured types. The speed with which data is generated and amassed necessitates the introduction of new technologies for their collection, transfer, storage and processing. In a chronological fashion, this article begins with the foundational work of database development and progresses through the emergence of big data. Concurrently, the scientists, whose theoretical and practical work underpinned the development of data processing systems, are also discussed. The article provides examples to show the pervasiveness of big data in our daily lives. The key technologies utilized to process big data are described, including the Hadoop ecosystem and the NoSQL type of databases. A strong emphasis is given to the role of data analytics, used to transform the raw data into information, decision-making models and knowledge.

Designing a Professional Training Program for Working with Gifted Children Using Software Office 365

Author(s): Oleg Zverev,Tatiana Sergeeva / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2020

This article describes the Master Program of professional training of specialists for working with gifted children using software Office 365. We justify the relevance and identify key ideas and content of the program. It includes activity based - learning based on modern educational technologies and digital resources, work with an empirical database with the results of leading educational centers which are focused on working with gifted children, with the identification of relevant problems and effective practices; attracting leading experts in the field of work with gifted children to conduct research etc…. The program is implemented in a face-to-face network format with the use of modern distance learning and Office 365 software, which allows us to organize collaborative work with documents in real-time regime using Word Web App, PowerPoint Web App or Excel Web App.

Анализ и оценка на риска от рискови технически системи при разработването на методика за обучението на студенти въз основа на метода динамично дърво на отказите (Dynamic Fault Tree)

Author(s): Tsvetelina Simeonova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2019

The aim of the present work is to develop a methodology for conducting exercises for analysis, assessment and management of risk, using a web based tool, by identifying and analyzing the risk of occurrence of a dangerous event through the dynamic fault tree method. As a result, a framework is presented according to the proposed methodology applicable to the students' training in risk analysis, evaluation and management, and according to acceptedassumptions. Approaches for qualitative and quantitative risk assessment are presented at the assumed value of the damages. In addition, a methodology for risk analysis, assessment and management applicable to student training on risk analysis and management, through the dynamic fault tree method, has been developed and proposed.

Организационни аспекти за администриране на дронове

Author(s): Petar Arabadzhiyski / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2019

The purpose of the article is to represent the organizational aspects of drone administration in the Republic of Bulgaria. On the basis of comparative structural and legal analysis specific functions of national, european and international authorities administrating the use of drones are highlighted as results as well as the structures of the administrations that assist them. Merit of the article are the suggested methods of improving the administration of the national regulating authority for administration of drones in Republic of Bulgaria. A suggestion for creation of specializedstructural department for administrating drones in the authority is being made in the article, also specific suggestions for improving the communication between regulating authorities for the use of drones and companies using them.

Система за мониторинг и Интернет свързаност за малките земеделски стопанства в отдалечени и труднодостъпни региони

Author(s): Georgi Petrov,Vasil Kadrev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2019

The purpose of this publication is to present the existing telecommunication connectivity problems of small and medium-sized farmers located in remote and hard to reach mountainous regions. The results relate to the development of an open hardware and software system for automated monitoring and determination of local meteorological forecasts for use by small and medium-sized farmers located in remote and hard to reach mountain regions. The contributions of this work are the in-depth analysis and the recommendations developed on the basis of this analysis. The developed system is part of a project concerning the construction and development of free internet access and monitoring systems in remote farms and in the mountainous regions of the country.

Подходи за създаване на инфраструктури за мрежови и Интернет иновации

Author(s): Margarita Petkova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2019

The aim of the present work is to consider the different options for building of test platforms (testbeds) for innovative research mainly on the next generation Internet. Test platforms for next generation networks in various related projects are considered: PlanetLab, Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI), FIRE (Future Internet Research and Experimentation), FEDERICA, OneLab2, PANLAB, PII ( Panlab II, WISEBED. The results are related to obtaining summary information about the structures and features of the operation of the test platforms. Contributions to the work are the in-depth analysis of the features of building, virtualization, division and provision of shared resources, as well as the ways of unification (federation) and management of test platforms.

The comparative analysis of Lithuanian manorial-serf economy and hacienda economic system of Latin America in the context of capitalist world system: from the second half of the 18th to the second half of the 19th centuries

Author(s): Darius Žiemelis / Language(s): English,Romanian Issue: 2/2018

The paper compares for the first time in historiography the Lithuanian manorial-serf economy and Latin American hacienda economic systems of the second half of the 18th century to the second half of the 19th century in the context of the capitalist world system (CWS). The main focus will be on the explication in macro level of similarities and differences of structures and development trends of these systems. The analyzed period corresponds to the stage of both the dominance and intensification of manorial-serf economy in Lithuania and predominance and intensification of hacienda economy in Latin American countries and it was determined by the same factor of the industrial revolution. The study confirms the thesis that these economic systems belonged to typologically closed economic kind (they were focused on the serfdom method of production) in the global division of labor. It shows that both Lithuanian manorial-serf economy and haciendas of Latin America were not typical feudal enterprises, but displayed only peripheral (agrarian) capitalism features.

За данните и пътя към науката за данните

Author(s): Pavel Azalov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2020

The roots of data science started to grow approximately sixty years ago. The current state, however, began to form only two decades ago, highly influenced by the emergence of big data. As such, this article is a natural continuation of the similarly themed big data article, published in the preceding issue of this journal. The focus of this article is on the events that materially contributed towards the prominence of data science. Additionally, the article discusses the debate around What is data science? had by academics, public organizations and government entities over the years. An emphasis is given to the James Gray paradigm, known as the fourth approach to scientific discoveries. The leading ideas in establishing Data Science as a major in several US universities are outlined briefly.

Музикално-компютърни технологии в контекста на академичната подготовка на студенти от педагогически специалности

Author(s): Milen Dimitrov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 7/2020

The formation of digital competences is one of the current issues facing contemporary education. In the context of reforms and innovation, applying specific innovative pedagogical teaching techniques, technology builds an adequate modernized learning environment in which computers and technologies are permanently needed. The general problems of digital competences find various projections into the specific sciences where they are used to achieve diverse and particular goals. In the musical training of students from pedagogical specialties they present information (educational) territory in which each trainee can expand his or her musical knowledge, and also can gain the necessary reasons and solutions to certain musical tasks in specific pedagogical situations.

Családbarát vállalkozások külhonban

Author(s): Izabella Fülöp / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2019

This study, written in connection with the Year of Hungarian families abroad, examines family-friendly businesses. In the framework of the thematic program year, the Research Institute for Hungarian Communities Abroad conducted a multidirectional research in the major four neighbouring regions: Southern-Slovakia, Vojvodina, Transcarpathia and Transylvania. In this research, we focused on the behaviour of family-friendly businesses. Since 2014 annually published research has emphasized business developments and their impact on families and children in the Hungarian cross-border regions. The interview study presented here was based on a similar idea, with the objective of gaining direct knowledge about Hungarian companies in the Carpathian Basin, especially whose leaders undertook to make their business family-friendly. It summarizes the economic situation in each region during the current period, in order to get an overall comparative picture of all mentioned areas, and to be able to interpret and manage the local difficulties, or benefits obtained by the entrepreneurs, who form a heterogeneous and innovative group considering family-friendly initiatives.

Nietzsche, Deleuze and Guattari: performative constitution of unpayable debt in finance capitalism

Author(s): Christina Banalopoulou / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Drawing upon the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche and Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari this essay puts forth the argument that in finance capitalism debt resolution performs as an elusive promise and an appearance that re-constitutes unpayable debt. A close elaboration on Nietzsche’s conceptual cartographies of the relation between the flows of Apollo and Dionysus and on the contextualization of this relation within capitalist frames that, as this essay demonstrates, Deleuze and Guattari explore in both Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus contributes to the argument that in finance capitalism unpayable debt is performatively constituted through illusions of debt resolution. To date little work offers a performative approach of Deleuze and Guattari’s conceptualization of the differential relation between the two flows of capital that constitute unpayable debt, including the ties between these flows and Nietzsche’s grasp of the differential relation between Apollo and Dionysus. As a result the performative strategies that constitute, justify, and reproduce unpayable debt in finance capitalism remain relatively unexplored. This essay draws upon the works of Nietzsche and Deleuze and Guattari and adds a performative methodology on the ongoing discussions on debt in order to address the practices that infinitize debt under the gaze of financial capital.

Marx’s Law of value and the ontology of labour: a Castoriadian critical point of view

Author(s): Richard Sobel / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

In Marx’s thought, is ‘law of value’ a particular law of capitalism (historicism) or a general law of the economy (naturalism)? To clarify this ambiguity, this article proposes to employ the social ontology of Cornélius Castoriadis. For it, ‘labour’ is not a substance, but a recent historical creation through which, finally, the capitalist mode of production expresses a fundamental truth about all society’s way of being. From this perspective, we explore some consequences of this deconstruction for the theory of value as current neo-Marxist approaches may employ it today in their economic analyses.

COVID-19 Lock-down Socio-economic Challenges Faced by Households in Rural Areas: A Perspective from Vhembe District, South Africa

Author(s): Ishmael Obaeko Iwara,Faith Musvipwa,Kinsley Ekene Amaechi,Raymond Raselekoane / Language(s): English,Serbian Issue: 3/2020

National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have varied from country to country. In South Africa, the response has included a compulsory 21-day lock-down entailing restrictions of social and economic activities among other things. This arguably helped the country to avoid further spread of the virus, especially in townships, informal settlements and rural communities, where access to health facilities is often difficult. However, it has also exposed rural households to unforeseen challenges. This paper explores these challenges in view of proffering policy measures to help such households during subsequent lock-down. University students living within such rural households were purposively sampled to solicit electronic data from heads of households in Vhembe district. Using a qualitative method to analyze the data gathered from 82 households, five major issues emerged which include access to basic needs such as groceries, whereas water and health items were some of the challenges. The situation in households is further compounded by ‘limited source of income’ due to retrenchments and shutdown of subsistence businesses. ‘Depression and frustration’ emanating from the fear of contracting the virus, spousal domestic abuse, inability to meet home obligations, family squabbles as well as boredom caused by movement restriction also constitute part of the challenges. The lack of needed information regarding the virus, and ‘theft’ were other two challenges. Based on these findings, the paper recommends thorough consideration of the identified challenges before the enforcement of such lock-down. It also encourages more improvement to be made in the area of service delivery in rural communities.

Development of Agricultural Activities in Bulgaria in the Conditions of Euro-Integration Processes (1989–2007)

Author(s): Maria Georgieva / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2020

This article is devoted to the research of the corporate agrarian system in Bulgaria, that in 1989-2007 was represented by agrarian holdings. The preconditions, the scheme and the three stages of creation of agricultural cooperatives in the conditions of integration into the European space (I – 1989–1996, II – 1996–2000, III – 2000–2007) – have been analyzed. Features of zoning and production directions of activity of these leading operators of agrarian market have been considered.

Neural Networks in a Character Recognition Mobile Application

Author(s): Liudmila Khaimina,Evgenii Khaimin,Daniil Antufiev,Inga Zashikhina / Language(s): English Issue: 5/2020

The article deals with the problem of character recognition using an artificial neural network. Based on the selected data, a model of a convolutional neural network was built, parameters were selected, and the result of training the network was demonstrated. A mobile application with an embedded neural network model has been developed. The process of connecting an API for displaying information on recognized characters has been described. A mobile application with the functionality of recognizing Japanese characters is implemented.

Book Review: Mason, P. (2015). Post-Capitalism. A Guide to our Future. London: Penguin Books

Author(s): Carmen Ardelean / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2018

Towards a theory of ignorance

Author(s): Adam Fforde / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

The paper develops an argument for the criteria that a theory of ignorance should meet. It starts from the distinction between instrumental and non-instrumental action. Usually, the latter is considered irrational and the former rational as being based upon known cause-effect relations whilst the latter is not. I argue that the former requires a reasoned basis in predictive knowledge of cause and effect, without which good council is either for inaction or non-instrumental action. The argument proceeds by exploiting mainstream statistical methods to explore an example of a ‘metric of advised ignorance’ to guide explicit reasoned choice allowing rejection of instrumental action in favour of inaction or non-instrumental action. The argument then explores a case study of how such rejection is disallowed by official requirements in International Development Assistance (aid) that contexts must always be believed predictive and so action organised as instrumental. This shows the basic irrationality of mainstream policy rationality. The paper then discusses wider social epistemological issues of this irrationality and concludes with a list of criteria a theory of ignorance should meet.

Comparing economic theories or: pluralism in economics and the need for a comparative approach to scientific research programmes

Author(s): Arne Heise / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Pluralism in economics appears to be a double-edged sword: we need more than one theory to grasp and explain the entire economic world, yet a plurality of possible explanations undermines the aspiration of the economic discipline to provide ‘objective knowledge’ in the singular of the ‘one world one truth’ conception. Therefore, pluralism is often equated with relativism and obscurantism. In this article, I will explore both the demand for pluralism and the fear of relativism and obscurantism, scrutinising each position in order to evaluate their respective justification and devising a methodological proposal that may appease both the defender and the sceptic of economic pluralism.

Rejoinder on animal spirits in Descartes and Keynes: a response to Kurt Smith

Author(s): Sonya Marie Scott / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

This essay serves as a response to Kurt Smith, who wrote a philosophical and historical commentary on my 2018 essay entitled ‘Crises, confidence and animal spirits: exploring subjectivity in the dualism of Descartes and Keynes’ in The Journal of Philosophical Economics. It also provides a rejoinder to my original commentary on the role of animal spirits in relation to dualism in the work of Descartes and Keynes. I address Smith’s historical-philosophical response to my work in three ways. First, I revisit Gilbert Ryle’s concept of the intellectualist legend with respect to understanding the Cartesian tradition of thought and expand upon my own exegetical approach in order to clear up the thorny issue of determining and asserting authorial intention. Second, I address the problem of establishing analogies between texts and disciplines. In order to do so I will revisit my earlier critique of the concept of ‘the Economy’ and show that, contra to Smith’s reading, it is not in fact analogous to Descartes’ ‘human being.’ Finally, I open up a fresh exploration of the nature of the relationship between economic rationality and economic system, looking at the broader economic vision of Keynes and some of his notorious opponents – Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek.

Why is economics not part of a system of scientific ethics? A review essay on Wilfred Dolfsma and Ioana Negru’s The Ethical Formation of Economists

Author(s): Altug Yalcintas / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Until the 1990s, the most used research and teaching materials for economists were print journal articles and print books. Since the Internet was commercialized in the 1990s, economists have used digital technologies in research and teaching. Journal articles and books are now more easily accessed. Online subscription systems allow economists to acquire electronic study and research materials in real time. Researchers can access a wealth of teaching and research materials freely and openly. In this essay [1], I focus on Wilfred Dolfsma and Ioana Negru’s The Ethical Formation of Economists (Dolfsma and Negru 2019) and claim that digital economics research requires a global understanding of ethics consistent with the values of scholarly practices. In the absence of scientific ethics, digital tools and software can harm the members of scholarly communities internationally and become a source of scientific misconduct. Economics should be taught as part of a system of scientific ethics.