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The 10th International Conference on
Contemporary Issues in Higher Education
The Ethos of the Academe: Standing the Test of
Time
Tuesday–Thursday, September 10–12, 2013
Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
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Program committee:
Dr. Nitza Davidovitch, Ariel University, Co-chair
Prof. Boris A. Starichenko, Ural State Pedagogical University, Yekaterinburg, Russia, Co-
chair
Prof. Michael Zinigrad, Ariel University
Prof. Nikolai Ch Rozov, Lomonosov Moscow State University
Prof. Nira Hativa, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Baruch Offir, Bar- Ilan University, Ariel University
Prof. Yuri Ribakov, Ariel University
Prof. Alexander Domoshnitsky, Ariel University
Prof. Nagib Callaos, University Simon Bolivar, Venezuela & International Institute of
Informatics and Systemics,USA
Prof. Zvi Shiller, Ariel University
Dr. Roman Yavich, Ariel University
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Organizing Committee:
Dr. Nitza Davidovitch, Ariel University, Co-chair
Prof. Boris A. Starichenko, Ural State Pedagogical University, Yekaterinburg, Russia, Co-
chair
Prof. Yuri Ribakov, Ariel University
Prof. Alexander Domoshnitsky, Ariel University
Prof. Natalja Lace, Riga Technical University
Prof. Zvi Shiller, Ariel University
Dr. Roman Yavich, Ariel University
Dr. Eleonora Shkolnik, Ariel University
Mrs. Inga manasheridze, Interbusiness Academy, Georgia
Mrs. Yael Tzur, Conference secretary, Ariel University
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Lifelong Learning in Georgia – Challenges and Priorities
Inga Manasheridze, Meri Gabedava, InterBusiness Academy, Tbilisi, Georgia
Lifelong Learning is an important component of the EU’s strategy for transforming Europe into “the
most competitive and dynamic knowledge”–based economy in the world. Lifelong learning is one of
the main principles of the Bologna process and it means access to education in any age, at any level of
knowledge, and opportunities to realize one's skills.
Lifelong Learning is the necessary prerequisite for the foundation of a knowledge-based society,
increasing individual competitiveness in a rapidly changing environment and social mobility and
strengthening the economy. This article provides a preview of the postsecondary and adult education
systems in Georgia, followed by a discussion of how Georgian educational institutions are using
innovative principles and practices to meet current challenges and support Lifelong Learning.
Recommendations are given for further strengthening and development of this sphere.
Opportunities and Challenges for Private Colleges in Georgia
Kakhaber Eradze, President of the Private Colleges Association of Georgia,
Rector of the Business Academy of Georgia-SBA
Reforms in Vocational Education and Training began after the adoption of the Georgian Law on
Vocational Education in 2009. Under the new regulations all licenses were abolished and a new
system of authorization and accreditation was introduced in order to enhance quality in VET. Today in
Georgia, with its population of 4.5 million people, there are 82 VET providers and 84% of these are
private. Private colleges currently face some problems such as: Budget financing is available for
public VET students only for “priority” occupations. These priorities are not identified based on a
systematic survey or research, but by the decision of governmental offices. The social status of VET
students neither is nor equal to that of academic students, such as provision of free public
transportation, insurance, and the postponing of mandatory military service. There is no adequate
system of professional orientation. VET is not very popular among members of society and
businesses. The principle of lifelong learning is not supported due to barriers to the transfer of
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knowledge from VET to academic level. Governmental national exams are mandatory for advancing
from one level of education to another even within the same professional qualification. Participation in
different projects financed by international donor organizations is available for public VET providers
only. Since the establishment of the Private Colleges Association of Georgia in January 2013 with the
assistance of the Georgian Employers’ Association, this approach has changed significantly. PCAG
has become one of the major players in the process of defining and implementing VET policy in
Georgia. The association aims to support the development of vocational education and training by
advocating and consulting its members. The process of elaboration of the association's quality
standards is in its final stage. Agreements are being reached with the government to solve some major
problems facing private VET providers in Georgia.
Integrating and Assimilating Innovative Technologies in School
Niva Wengrowicz, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology
In spite of the importance of the educational system, it is not developing according to society’s needs.
Many fields have undergone a revolution following the development of computer and online
technologies. In these fields, the technological information revolution is reflected in both research and
practical aspects. However, the field of education was left behind and did not undergo rapid
development, despite worldwide efforts. Educational research focusing on the pedagogical use of
technology is extensive, but is not significantly evident in the field. Why is the relationship between
academic research and development of practice less effective in education? Policy makers in education
do not perceive the educational system as a unique discipline. Rather, they judge it using terms from
the world of economics. Methods of analysis and educational decision-making rely primarily on data
relevant for economic decisions, and pedagogical data are of secondary importance. In spite of the
recognition and agreement on the need for generating change in education and learning systems, in
order to adapt them to our day and age, decision makers in the field of education still do not refer to
the information accumulated in academia as relevant and essential for generating a process of change
in education. Furthermore, when the need for change arises, they turn to economists and decision-
making models from the discipline of economics. This state of affairs was the basis for our desire to
understand processes of change in educational systems. Our research team developed a theory and
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model. It is based on knowledge that we accumulated as part of studies conducted over the past
decades with the aim of successfully implementing and assimilating technological tools in educational
systems. It became clear that we must utilize four key principles in order to succeed in the process of
integrating innovative technological systems in schools. These four principles will be discussed in the
article: (1) ongoing research; (2) islands of success; (3) empowering teachers; (4) diffusion of
responsibility.
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Session 1: Teaching and Learning
The challenges of critical pedagogy in the academia in a conflicted society
Moshe Levy, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Ariel University, Israel
The aim of this study is to examine how different critical perspectives are being accepted by Israeli
students from different groups and minorities (Jewish, Muslim, women, men, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi,
middle class, and lower class) who attended sociology classes that took place in four different Israeli
academic institutions. The social heterogeneity of the students in these geographically scattered
institutions, together with the turbulent political and social times experienced by Israeli society during
the process of data collection, enabled different comparisons that shed a new light on the role of the
critical knowledge reproduced in the educational systems of conflicted societies.
This study found that while feminist and elite perspectives elicited positive reactions from most
students overall, other critical perspectives (Post Colonialism, Marxism and Pluralist Theory)
provoked the students and frequently encountered antagonism. These reactions indicated that most
students adopted a critical theory only when it promised to provide them with an advantage over
competing groups. Accordingly, "critical" perspectives were rejected by students when they were
perceived as endangering the interests and position of the groups to which they belonged. Thus, the
findings of this research show that studying "critical" theories does not develop Universalist points of
view which perceive equality and freedom as rights to which all human beings are entitled.
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Self-organization as a condition of effective studying
A.V. Merenkov, B.N. Eltsin Ural Federal University
The article investigates the characteristics of the main elements of self-organization mechanisms in the
process of students' high school studies. The article shows the differences in the students' attitude to 1
and 3 courses for developing skills of setting real goals of study, choosing the best way to implement
them, utilizing their willpower and self-control for academic activities.
Brand as Part of Higher School Information Policy: Creating and
Functions in the Market of Educational Services
Baskakova Irina Vladimirovna, B. Eltsin Ural State University
The purpose of the research is to assess the role of brand in the Russian educational services market,
and to identify factors influencing brand development in the higher education segment. Interest in the
economics of education is due to the institutional transformation in the Russian education system, as
well as the fact that the education market is competitive and its actors need to find methods of
differentiating themselves and –creating effective signals for the world around them.
We use the institutional paradigm to investigate the role of brand in educational institutions, which
allows us to consider brand as part of the signaling system of non-profit organizations (university), and
the market of educational services as the market of products that are trusted, which prevents an
objective assessment of their quality. The market of educational services is characterized by high
information asymmetry, which leads to adverse selection, which educational institutions prevent by
using methods of alerting and screening. The signaling system can be effective or ineffective,
depending on the signals selected to represent their ranking.
One of the important functions of brand is to reduce transaction costs, which depend on the
institution’s stage of branding. Institutional theory allows us to estimate the value of a university brand
as the value of the transaction costs that are required to develop the brand.
The work suggests a typology of signals that serve higher education. The first group of signals is the
institution’s research potential. The second group of signals consists of indicators of the effectiveness
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of teaching. The third group consists of the so-called by-products of the educational services that are
used to evaluate brand effectiveness. The fourth group of signals includes institutional activities (open
days, participation in exhibitions, fairs, educational services, professional orientation work with high
school graduates and their parents).
Econometric analysis of the factors influencing brand development in the Russian educational services
market shows that these factors include high leadership and organizational capacity of the enrolled
students, the university's image as a socially responsible organization that regularly conducts various
volunteer and charitable projects, as well as the presence of a large number of professionals in the
teaching staff.
Scenarios and Design Patterns in Design Education
Hernan Casakina, Arjan van Timmeren
b, and Petra Badke-Schaub
c
aAriel University,
bDelft University of Technology,
cDelft University of Technology,
Scenarios and design patterns can be considered important aids in the design studio. In this paper we
explored the use of these educational methods by a team of design students in the early phases of the
design process. Design patterns and scenarios were found to be complementary aids for supporting
architectural and urban design education. In an empirical study both approaches - scenarios and design
pattern - were compared in regard to how to successfully guide the different steps in the design
process. Findings showed that the general help provided by design patterns was mainly in defining
problems and analyzing idea solutions, primarily from a technical and functional perspective.
Scenarios, on the other hand, were particular helpful for generating out-of-the-box ideas and
enhancing design creativity. Each design method was found to influence the type of design activities
developed during the meeting. Irrespectively of the design approach used, working in a team appeared
to have a major role in enriching and enhancing different aspects of the design activity. Further
implications for design education are discussed.
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Mathematical Competitions in the Form of Debates
Alexander Domoshnitsky, Nelly Keller and Roman Yavich, Ariel University, Israel
In this paper we develop a game method that is suitable for average and even weak students and can
be used in most regular study groups. As a basis we take the game known as Mathematical Debates.
Mathematical Debates first emerged as a form of competition between school students about 70 years
ago in Moscow and Leningrad mathematical boarding schools. This form of mathematical competition
quickly gained popularity among mathematical schools and clubs. Its purpose is not only to provide
students with an opportunity to solve mathematical problems of high complexity, but also to publicly
present and defend the solutions, and to argue against the solutions of the rivals. Special attention was
paid to subtleties. The game helps sharpen the mind, gain a better understanding of the foundations of
elementary mathematics, and develop oratory skills.
Systematic Evaluation of Students’ Practical Performance in Laboratory Courses
Ruthy Sfez and Esti Hefer, Azrieli, Jerusalem College of Engineering
Laboratory courses are an integral and central part of any curriculum of students learning for science
or engineering degrees. The purposes of laboratory courses are various. A main goal of laboratory
courses is the application of theoretical principles learned in frontal courses. Moreover, the student
frequently has to deal with experimental results that deviate from the expected, and has to find a way
to explain these deviations and evaluate the accuracy and precision of his results. Laboratory courses
demand high investments on behalf of the students on three levels: preparation, performance and
reporting, i.e. writing a scientific report and analyzing experimental results. In general a laboratory
session begins with a short quiz and colloquium which should indicate the student's knowledge in
usual known parameters of evaluation. The report can be evaluated in that way too. In contrast to these
evaluations, the evaluation of performance in the lab, which can sometimes comprise about 50% of the
final grade, is given intuitively by instructors or teaching assistants (TAs). This situation implies a lack
of clarity and consistency between students and teachers, and can cause a high degree of dependence
on the specific instructor with no standardization of evaluation and grading.
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At our institution (Azrieli, Jerusalem college of engineering, JCE) we have developed in the past years
a rubric score based on chosen parameters, which enables systematic and standardized evaluation of
experimental performance of students in chemistry laboratory courses. It was used on more than 100
students and over 20 TAs and heads of laboratory in various chemistry courses. Correlation was
conducted regarding grades based on intuition and on the developed evaluation. The main goals
defined include standardization of grading and improvement of the student-TA interface. Following
these results, a second step was taken in which students evaluated themselves as well, with the purpose
of analyzing and improving their own learning process in various courses.
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Session 2: Technological applications
Mathematics Competitions in the General Context of Mathematical Education
Alexander Domoshnitsky and Roman Yavich, Ariel University, Israel
In this paper, several possible forms of mathematical competitions are discussed. Correlations
between a corresponding form of competition and pedagogical purposes are considered. Are these
serious competitions or a game? Concepts of internet mathematical competitions are
presented. Results of 6 years of experience in organization of the Internet Mathematics Olympiad for
Students at Ariel University are presented.
A practical guide to Nested ANOVA for research in sociology studies
Niza Davidovitch, Ariel University, Oleg Verbitsky, Technion
In sociology, the performance of the system of meritocracy in a country is often evaluated through the
similarity-attraction paradigm (SAP). One of the variables of the SAP is the human sex ratio. The SAP
focuses on the preferences of individuals to interact with others with whom they share common life
experiences or values. We suggest using a nested ANOVA test for studying the social effect on the
human sex ratio within social studies faculty members. For example, the countries (Israel and the
US) are defined as the primary sampling units, while the Israel-US university sector is defined as the
sampling frame. The departments are defined as sub-units. The human sex ratios are sub-units, the
correlated observations. Ignoring the hierarchical structure leads to sacrificial pseudoreplication.
Pseudoreplication occurs when the observation units are statistically treated as the primary sampling
units. Pseudoreplication can lead to artificially inflated degrees of freedom (i.e., an inflated Type I
error rate), giving the illusion of having a more powerful statistical inference.
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The Effect of Computer Games on Children's Cognition and Strategic Skills
Roman Yavich, Lior Heffetz, Hodaya Dareli, Yafa (Amaretz) Yhakove, Ariel University
Our senses receive stimuli from the environment and retain them consciously for a few seconds in
order to give our brain the opportunity to process the information. If the brain gives an order to
process this information we use processing strategies for optimal storage of information. Some people
are capable of using these strategies more frequently than others. These people have more rapid
retrieval skills than those who do not use such strategies or use them less often. In our study we sought
to explore the frequency in which these strategies are used among 8-10 year old children. The study is
a correlational quantitative empirical study that operationally examined the correlation between the
use of various types of electronic media and computer games and the memory skills of children of
these ages. In the first part of the study 30 children aged 8-10, selected at random, were asked how
much time they spend at the computer every day and about their types of usage. In the second part of
the experiment, they were read a story, and in the third part they were asked questions about the story.
The results of the study showed a significant correlation between respondents' use of memory
strategies and the amount of time they spent at the computer as well as their type of computer use.
Learning Centered Teaching and Backward Course Design – From
Transferring Knowledge to Teaching Skills
Nitza Davidovitch, Ariel University
The article shall focus on the design of academic courses from a learning centered approach, with an
emphasis on the formulation of learning outcomes. Planning a course from a learning centered
approach helps create a dialogue between the academic faculty and students and creates congruence
between learning outcomes (course goals) and instruction methods and assessment goals. The purpose
of the article is to present the need for paradigmatic change and for a transition from planning content
centered courses to planning learning centered courses. The need for paradigmatic change stems from
technological transformations and from the status of knowledge as belonging to everyone. The article
presents the significance of expressing learning outcomes in writing and the advantages and
challenges of formulating learning aims. The article shall present a case study of a course in the
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"backward design" method that is consistent with the learning centered paradigm. The challenges
formed by this method will be discussed as well.
Teaching Robotics, Mechatronics and Innovation to Mechanical Engineers
Zvi Shiller, Ariel University
This paper describes a multi-disciplinary teaching program, designed to provide students with the
broad knowledge and skills required to practice product development in robotics and mechatronics.
The curriculum was designed to prepare students for the senior capstone design project, in which they
design and build a working mechatronic/robotic system. It consists of a basic program in Mechanical
Engineering, augmented with courses and laboratories in electronics, microprocessors, control and
computer programming. The early introduction of the specialty courses and the ample hands-on
experience offered in the accompanying laboratories allows students to gain intuitive understanding of
concepts that are usually foreign to mechanical engineers. The capstone design project is a guided
process that emphasizes creative thinking, innovation, and teamwork. The outcome of these projects
is usually a working prototype of a robotic system. The capstone design project serves as a beacon for
the entire program, having attracted numerous students to the program. The program is now in its
11th year, receiving positive feedback from students and graduates.
Session 3: Teaching from an Inter-disciplinary Perspective
Does professional activity in the field of disabilities change one's attitudes or shape one's
behavior? - The Ripple Effect Model - The case of an Accessible Community
Ester Zychlinski, Yaira Hamama-Raz, Menahem Ben-Ezra, School of Social Work, Ariel
University
The Accessible Community project, based on the Ripple Effect Model, takes place in the first year of
undergraduate studies in social work. During the project, all students participate in a service-learning
course in community social work. The course goals are: strengthening the ties between academia and
the community and expanding the active exposure of first-year undergraduate social work students to
the methods of community social work with marginalized populations; in this specific case, people
with disabilities.
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Several tools were selected to evaluate the degree of success in realizing the course goals: students'
personal progress reports, meetings with project partners in the community (social services, education,
recreation and municipal officials, and representatives of the population with disabilities), measures
of task performance, quantitative feedback from the students about the kind of knowledge (theoretical
/ experiential) they acquired, and a self report questionnaire (ATDP) that evaluated student's attitudes
toward people with disabilities before and after the project.
Of the 150 social work students who participated in this project during 2010-2011, 58.67% (N= 88)
agreed to complete the ATDP questionnaire. The findings showed that:
Judging by personal reports, task performance, quantitative feedback, and evaluation by project
partners, the program managed to improve skills, achieved high performance of most tasks, and
met with high satisfaction among the project partners.
Regarding attitudes toward people with disabilities, students' attitudes, whether positive or
negative prior to their experience in the project, remained the same. The same result was repeated
in the second year of their studies.
These findings suggest that professional intervention in the School of Social Work might not change
students' basic attitudes but does shape their professional behaviors.
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Mediated Interactions – A Comparison between Mediating Factors in High Schools that
Integrate Asynchronous Distance Learning
Arye Ben-Hayim and Prof. Baruch Offir, Bar-Ilan University
An e-learning revolution is currently taking place (Horizon Report, 2008; Milne, 2007; Moore &
Kearsely, 2005), with far-reaching implications for the way in which people of all ages and in all
frameworks learn. In academe, an approach that involves e-learning, and called Blended Learning
(Konja & Ben-Zvi, 2009) or the Hybrid Approach (El Mansour & Mupinga, 2007), and which
combines e-learning with face-to-face interaction, is gaining popularity. Use is increasing particularly
of the video media, by a combination of recorded lectures of lecturers in a course. Examples of this
can be seen in the Flipped Classroom model at the Khan Academy and in courses offered at leading
universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Coursera, etc.
Research findings indicate that the distance learning environment is limited. This limitation stems,
among other things, from the separation between the teacher and the students in distance learning
environments, and is expressed in numerous pedagogical areas, such as lack of motivation and interest
by the students, which arise from difficulties in independent learning (Offir, 2006), difficulties in
providing feedback to students (Offir, 2004), difficulty in developing effective technological skills,
insufficient rewards, concerns of a decrease in the quality of the course, a reduction in free time for
research and publication, and an increase in the number of students per course (Allen & Seaman,
2006; Carroll-Barefield et al., 2005).
The present study proposes a distance learning model that adds a mediating teacher in the classroom to
the teacher who teaches from a distance, in order to overcome the issue of separation, the difficulties
and the gaps in understanding and in perceptions between the teachers and the students that occur in
the distance learning environment (Moore, 1973, 1993, 1996, 2005). This model is based on the
Mediated Learning Experience theory proposed by Feuerstein and his colleagues (Feuerstein, Rand, &
Hoffman, 1979). According to this model, the teacher who teaches from a distance should be an expert
in the content and will transmit a lesson to several classes simultaneously, either synchronously or
asynchronously, whereas the role of the mediating teacher in the classroom will be to mediate between
the students and the distance teacher and/or between the students and recorded lectures and the course
site of the teacher who teaches from a distance, by affording support and a feeling of competence and
capability, imparting meaning and motivation for learning and strengthening learning and high-order
thinking skills.
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Science Teachers’ Limited Perceptions and Assessment of Student Scientific Creativity
Rea Lavi, Bar-Ilan University, Baruch Offir, Bar-Ilan University, Ariel University
In an age when job market requirements for technological training and professional skills are
constantly evolving, the role of teachers is changing accordingly: from that of imparters of knowledge
to facilitators of knowledge creation in students. In distance learning (DL) the teacher acts as a
mediator between the DL system and the student while taking into consideration the student’s
personal, motivational, and cognitive characteristics. As individually tailored instruction becomes
increasingly important, the need for accurate and continuous assessment of students’ abilities and
skills by teachers becomes evident. Thus, a science teacher’s accuracy in assessing scientific creativity
could have various implications including the teacher’s performance as mediator in DL. This research
aimed to evaluate the ability of science teachers to accurately assess the scientific creativity of their
students. Using an established test for assessing scientific creativity of secondary school students, this
study assessed 3 widely accepted parameters of creativity—fluency, flexibility, and originality—
among Israeli 7th and 8
th grade students (n=99). The correlation between student scores and their
teachers’ (n=4) independent assessments of these parameters was calculated using Pearson
correlations. One teacher displayed a high level of accuracy (r=0.718) in assessing flexibility, with no
accuracy (no significant correlation) in assessing fluency or originality; two teachers displayed a
medium level of accuracy (r=0.393 and r=0.364) for a single parameter (flexibility and originality,
respectively) with no accuracy for any other parameter; and one teacher displayed no accuracy in
assessing any parameter. In correspondence with these findings, interviews with the same teachers
revealed limited perceptions of creativity as well as lack of training and knowledge regarding
creativity or its assessment.
Financial literacy in Latvia: defining the concept and survey results
Nataļja Lace, Guna Ciemleja and Jelena Titko, Riga Technical University
The paper reflects the results of the authors’ research conducted within the scope of the research
project «Enhancing Latvian Citizens’ Securitability through Development of Financial Literacy». The
aim of the research was to explore the concept of financial literacy, as well as to measure financial
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literacy level, using Latvian sample data. The applied research methods involved content analysis and
a survey of respondents. The research provides a conceptual framework for understanding the concept
of financial literacy, thus building a theoretical foundation for development of the methodology of
financial literacy evaluation. The pilot study revealed a great interest of respondents of different ages
and social positions in financial literacy issues, as well as a lack of financial knowledge and skills
among Latvian citizens.
Session 4: Special Session on Engineering and Technology
Education
Bologna Process in the Field of Geoinformation: The example of the Beuth
University of Applied Sciences Berlin
Immelyn Domnick, Boris Resnik, Beuth Hochschule für Technik, University of Applied
Sciences
In 1998, the European Ministers of Education began the Bologna Process with the idea of building up
a European Area of Higher Education. The Bologna Process led to the replacement of traditional
German "Diploma" degrees with Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Today, the Beuth University of
Applied Sciences offers over 70 degree programmes in 45 fields, the majority in engineering fields,
but also in sciences and business administration. The Department of Civil Engineering and
Geoinformation (FB III) of the University has also drawn from this change and is now equipped with
several bachelor and master degree programs. The transition did not always prove to be easy and was
associated with many organizational difficulties. In the field of geographic information these changes
were even more extensive as this is still a very young discipline. The focus of this field of study should
benefit from the wide experience in the much older fields of geodesy, geography, cartography, as well
as computer science, and should be revised accordingly. Meanwhile, after a few years of experience
with this program, initial conclusions can be drawn and lessons learned.
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Comparative Analyses of Pedagogical Support of Pre-service Teachers’
Professional Development in Ukraine and USA
Alexander W. Chizhik, San Diego State University, Zinaida N. Kurlyand, Aleksandr R.
Gokhman, Tatiana V. Koval, South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University
Professional development of pre-service teachers is a complex multilayered and multidimensional
process with the ultimate goal of transforming future teachers. It supports motivation of future activity,
development of pedagogical content knowledge and associated instructional skills, and mastering of
modern instructional technologies, all designed to pursue the goal of teacher competence. A main
milestone toward this goal is a stable system of an orientation of interests and demands toward
pedagogical activity, which is characterized by pre-service teachers’ high positive motivation
regarding the profession. According to Rean (Rean, Bordovsky, & Razum, 2001), such motivation can
compensate for limited knowledge of pedagogical content and associated instructional skills to support
the development of preservice teachers.
Our investigation is a comparative study of future teachers’ motivation in Ukraine and the USA.
Future teachers’ motivation to enter and perform in the profession are considered. In particular, we
focus on future teachers’ pedagogical responsiveness, inquisitiveness, development of professional
dispositions, as well as an orientation towards the objective of receiving a diploma following the
methodology of Ilyin (2006), Zamfir (1983), and Rean et al. (2002). Our analyses compare
parameters of pedagogical support of the professional development of future teachers in Ukraine and
the USA.
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Session 5- Ecological factors contributing to the process of
knowledge acquisition
The Current State of the Support Granted to Disabled Students by Brno
University of Technology
Jiří Kříž, Jan Luhan, Veronika Novotná, Bedřich Půža
Brno University of Technology (BUT), Brno, Czech Republic
Basic principles of open society include tolerating differences and respecting other people’s rights.
Discrimination against groups appears in various forms and even nowadays these principles of a
democratic society are not followed in the Czech Republic. Groups that can be said to be
discriminated against are also those with physical and health disabilities.
Unlike the Act of Primary and Secondary Education, the valid wording of the Act of Tertiary
Education does not contain the obligation of an individual approach to disabled students. There is
neither an unequivocal declaration nor a system determining the approach of tertiary education
institutions to disabled students.
Being aware of the need to address such issues, most public universities in the Czech Republic have
established centres that help and support handicapped students. They primarily aim to ensure an
appropriate background for these students not only in terms of their studies. The functions of these
institutions, by individual university, are described in this paper.
The paper further deals with the current state and efficiency of the support granted to disabled students
by Brno University of Technology (BUT). The paper draws on findings of surveys aimed at disabled
students. Analysis of the issue was carried out by means of questionnaires in the 2011/2012 academic
year. The findings specified priority targets for innovation of the current state and the determination of
a long-term intention to support the target group.
Information was evaluated on the basis of data supplied by BUT employees:
1. Data from study officers at eight faculties
2. An electronic questionnaire completed by lecturers across faculties
The data collected were evaluated and they provided information on lecturers’ approaches to
disabled students (health disabilities, specific learning disorders, mental disorders, etc.). Thanks to the
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survey it turned out that there are no comprehensive and transparent records of disabled students, not
even in study departments of the individual faculties. Therefore, an integrated methodology of how to
approach the target group couldn’t be determined and study issues were dealt with individually
between each lecturer and student.
Disabled students make up a minority of students at Brno University of Technology. However,
promoting their interest in education should be a priority. Universities should focus more on the
principle of inclusive pedagogy and minimize segregation of handicapped students in order to ensure
equal opportunities at the tertiary level of education.
Does Theoretical Knowledge Prevent Psychological Biases in the Capital
Market?
Doron Greenberg and Ze'ev Shtudiner
Ariel University, Department of Economics and Business Administration
When choosing a particular alternative from a number of financial assets, risk is an important feature.
According to the classic Capital Assets Pricing Model (CAPM) we would expect to receive a positive
correlation between risk and return. However studies show that investors judge financial assets in
terms of "good" or "bad". A good financial asset has a high expected return and a low risk, and vice
versa. This bias of thinking is irrational and contradicts the classical theory of finance. The aim of this
study is to examine the effect of learning the CAPM in the entry courses of finance on this bias.
The design of this experiment was a two group within-subject experiment (235 subjects). Each
participant made both risk judgments and return judgments over 25 assets. The 25 assets were
domestic stocks that were chosen randomly from the Tel Aviv 100 stock index, which are traded on
the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Thirteen were familiar assets (shares listed in the highest
market capitalization on the exchange) and 12 unfamiliar.
The results contradict the rational CAPM model and exhibit a negative correlation between risk and
return. This implies that an asset that is considered low risk is also considered as having a high return.
One explanation for this bias is the bottom-up model. According to this model the investor casts her
attitute for the asset in the first stage, and then she binds all the subsequent judgments to this attitude.
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The experiment included two treatments that differ in the timing of the experiment. Some of the
subjects were asked to judge the return and risk ratings before learning the CAPM in class, and the
others were asked after it. When the bias is strong (familiar shares) the theoretical knowledge does not
result in a reduction of the bias. However, the bias became significantly smaller when judging the risk
and return of unfamiliar shrares.
Academic accessibility – without limits?
Shmuel Schacham, Ariel University, Israel
Accessibility of the academia to the disabled is a major issue in many parts of the world. Besides
enabling all populations to expand their knowledge, disabled people who gained an academic
education were shown to have drastically increased their chances of finding employment and being
integrated into society. Many countries have legislation that mandates physical accessibility (PA) of
public institutions, including universities and colleges. Some countries have passed laws demanding
learning accommodations (LA) for students with learning disabilities (LD). These legislations intend
to provide every citizen with equal opportunity, including obtaining an academic education.
Implementation of these regulations is a very demanding task. PA requires major investments in
infrastructure. The entire campus must be accessible to people with ambulatory, visual and hearing
impairments. Providing LA requires a professional staff that provides all the necessary adjustments.
The first step is setting guidelines for acceptance of evaluations to entitle accommodations. A major
effort is to identify students with LD at a very early stage of their studies. In a survey conducted
among disabled LD students at Ariel University we found that less than 50% of them applied for
accommodations on time, i.e. before the beginning of the school-year.
A complex task is providing accommodations for exams. The most common accommodation of LD
students is time extension. This is a technical issue which can be handled rather easily in most cases.
More complicated issues include students who must be tested in separate rooms, who need someone to
read the questionnaire, or to rewrite their answers.
Are there limits to accommodations? How much should academic institutes invest to help students
study any subject they wish? Obviously there are subjects that people with impairments cannot study.
But should students who suffer from dyscalculia be able to graduate without completing calculation
tasks? Can persons who are incapable of learning English be engineers?
23
Factors contributing to successful integration of foreign born faculty
Ya’arit Bokek-Cohen and Nitza Davidovitch, Ariel University, Israel
Academic diversity is one of the main characteristics of globalization in the post-modern world, with
increasing numbers of foreign students and faculty in many academic institutions. Most studies of
foreign born faculty documented various difficulties involved in the integration of foreign born faculty
(FBF) in academic institutions. This paper aims to present data indicating the unique and successful
integration of FBF in the Israeli academic world and identifying factors that contributed to this
success. Our data are based on several measures for success of foreign born faculty in the institution
studied. A discriminate analysis was performed in order to examine to what degree scoring on various
excellence criteria distinguishes between foreign and native born faculty. The research reveals that
FBF have succeeded in reaching impressive academic achievements. Five complementary
explanations for their successful integration are presented, with the most crucial being in-group ethno-
cultural similarity of faculty who emigrated from the same country. We conclude with managerial
implications for successful integration of FBF in institutions of higher education.
Session 6- Special Session on Engineering and Technology
Education- Continued
Formation of abilities on detection and decoding of the hidden information
placed in text and image files transmitted over computer networks
Olga M. Lapenok, Ural State Pedagogical University, Yekaterinburg, Russia
This paper describes the author developed an application designed to generate skills to identify and
decipher the hidden information available in text and image files transferred on computer networks,
and used in computer competitions of anti-hackers of Capture The Flag is described.
The developed application combines in itself four methods of information processing:
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1) The encoding and decoding of data in different formats: utf-8, hex, base64, bin, QP, JS, HTML -
Escape, URL - Escape
2) Algorithm use for extraction of the information located in the least significant bits of images in
different formats
3) Decoding of the text information encoded by the cipher of Caesar
4) Algorithms of count of MD5 and SHA-1 of hashes of the messages entered by the user to identify
the message of arbitrary length.
In article advantages of this application in comparison with other existing similar utilities and online
applications are described. One from which is that its use creates complex abilities of detection of the
hidden information in text and graphic files. Thus developed program has intuitively the clear and
convenient interface which is giving the chance: to select the interesting section, to unload/enter the
image/text, to receive the hidden information and the report on a method of its receiving (algorithm
specifying).
Other applications, in the majority, don't deliver the report on a method of obtaining the hidden data
while absence of this report can prevent the user to use the received hidden message further.
Environmental design in terms of the concerns of managers and/or building
owners
Svetlana Pushkar, Ariel University
As is well known, cost performance is relevant in terms of the present time and concerns of the
manager and/or building owner. However environmental performance is relevant in terms of the future
time and concerns of the general public. Building-related activity is one of the most considerable
human activities affecting the environment. Production, construction, operation, maintenance, and
disposal of the building cause environmental burdens, which result in environmental impacts such as
global warming, ozone depletion, acidification, etc., leading to air, water and soil pollution, climatic
changes, and resource depletion. Thus the environmental consideration should be taken into account in
addition to the economic ones.
The problem needs to be solved in a Multiobjective Optimization (MO) framework. This requires
embedding Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) principles within a MO framework. Only such an approach
25
may provide a systematic means of establishing the methodology for a building's economic and
environmental optimization. However decision makers' preferences regarding the design-relevant
objective functions (environmental versus cost) can be problematic and subjective.
The paper suggests applying the non-weighted indifference curves technique for solving the
multiobjective problem consisting of both environmental and cost objective functions. The
investigation demonstrates that this method is appropriate for performing multi-objective optimization
for building components such as partitions, floor/ceiling, floor covering, external wall type, and wall
covering. Application of the indifference curves technique does not result in the single best non-
compromise solution rather in a set of several best indifference solutions and offers trade-offs between
the two objective functions.
Teaching Introduction to Programming in Civil Engineering Using Personal
Computers
Roman Yavich, Yuri Ribakov, Nitza Davidovich, Ido Halperin, Ariel University, Israel
Traditionally, the course "Introduction to Programming-MATLAB" in Civil Engineering was taught in
a regular classroom. As the main purpose of the course is to develop the students' knowledge
necessary for developing algorithms for solving civil engineering problems using MATLAB, the
lectures should use intensive technology, ensuring maximum efficiency of educational information
transmission and assimilation. Taking into account the ability of computer, it was decided to start
teaching of the course in computer classes. The correct use of information and communication
technologies in education can solve two important didactic tasks: individual training and activation of
learning activities of students. It is assumed that regular and consistent delivering of the course in
computer classes will provide increase of the cognitive activity of students in class and expanding the
opportunity of the teachers to manage the course. For a comprehensive evaluation of the course the
students were asked to complete a questionnaire, presenting questions that evaluate the course quality.
Each survey question figures out how the students evaluate one or another component of the course.
The main part of the questions is closed. The questionnaire also includes several questions, involving
detailed answers. The students receive an additional opportunity to express their opinion about the
26
advantages or disadvantages of the course, and about the knowledge, acquired through the course, in a
free form. The survey results are useful for further courses and developing guidelines.
Methodology of measuring critical buckling load for sway mode frames
Boris Blostotsky, Yuri Ribakov, Elia Efraim Ariel University, Israel
The study of buckling in structural elements is an important topic in civil engineering education.
Experimental investigation of the buckling process yields deep understanding of this phenomenon and
its physical basis, as well as corresponding methods for design of structural elements. The critical
sway buckling load of frames is the upper limit of the allowed frame loading. This buckling load is
additionally limited by plastic deformations of the frame elements and their connections. The paper
deals with a new nondestructive method for determining the critical sway buckling load of frames. The
theoretical basis for the method is the dependence between the frame's lateral stiffness and the vertical
load acting on the columns. The lateral stiffness is obtained experimentally for varying values of
vertical and horizontal loads. The critical load is obtained analytically by extrapolating the stiffness up
to its zero value. The horizontal load is obtained for each vertical load from the condition of avoiding
plastic deformations in the frame elements. The accuracy of the experimental method is verified by
comparing the experimental results with the corresponding analytical dependencies. This method can
be applied in tests of real frames as well as in testing of frame models in laboratory courses when
studying the buckling of frames. In the learning process the phenomenon of buckling and the influence
of fixing conditions at column ends on critical load are studied.
Jacket Factory - A board game designed to excite (and teach) future
economics and business graduates
Jeffrey Kantor, Department of Economics and Business Administration, Ariel University,
Canadian Professors Innerd, Kantor and Estrin designed, developed and built a board game with the
objective of attracting highly motivated (to earn lots of money) students to the business program at the
University of Windsor in Canada.
Using dice and game pieces, students manage the manufacture of three different kinds of
jackets. Risks are represented by rolls of the dice as well as by risk cards. Costs include Factory type,
27
Machine type, Material Costs and Conversion Costs (Labour and Overhead). There is Revenue when
money is received for the completed products sold. Costs, Revenues and Loans are tracked by means
of 'Cost Management' spreadsheets. The winner is the player who makes the most money.
Recently Dr Roman Yavich from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at
Ariel University joined Professor Kantor to convert the game to an internet-based game. The objective
is to expose potential students to Cost Accounting. It is proposed that at a future conference the results
of the conversion of the manual game to a computerized game will be discussed. In addition to being a
learning tool for our current/potential students, this game is intended to help our university in its
efforts to attract the best students to the economics and business administration program.
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Session 7: Selected Issues in Discipline-Specific Academic
Teaching – Social Sciences and the Humanities
New Requirements in Higher Education
Andrea Bencsik, Széchenyi István University Győr Hungary, Univerzita J. Selyeho Komarno
Slovakia
We see a lot of criticism of educational methods employed by universities and colleges, as students’
knowledge, abilities, and preparedness are not suitable for the requirements of companies and practical
life. In this study we wish to answer those who ask ’how and why’.
To realize this wish a survey was conducted among students and teachers from different
institutions of higher education. We examined features of preparing for practical work, the
environment of schools and studying, roles of students and teachers, methods of education. We attempt
to explore whether the criticism of higher education is justified by these features or not. We also have
an insight into the so called Bologna Process, which was formed in the EU and is now collectively
used in EU countries.
Community Based Archaeology: A View from Tel Burna
Itzhaq Shai, Ariel University, Amit Dagan, Bar Ilan University, Debi Cassuto, Bar Ilan
University, Joe Uziel, Israel Antiquities Authority
Tel Burna is located along the northern bank of Wadi Guvrin and situated in the heart of the Judean
Shephelah, one of Israel’s most intensively researched regions. Excavations at the site have, thus far,
revealed remains of both the Late Bronze and the Iron Ages. A primary target of the Tel Burna
Archaeological Project is our focus on social outreach by integrating community and educational
projects. In addition to volunteers from all over the world, the dig is open to anyone who wishes to
experience archaeology first-hand; to date exposing people aged 8 to 90 to archaeology.
Recent studies have shown that the application of methods which involve the use of our senses
enhances the learning process. Archeology can be used as an outstanding educational tool, as it
integrates the use of various senses in the physical work involved, touching the ground and the finds,
29
using vision to see changes in sediments, etc. By providing an opportunity to participate in
archaeological fieldwork, excavation can be seen as an informal classroom for the study of
archaeology, history, and anthropology, enabling hands-on experience and actual demonstration of
how ancient societies are recreated. Rather than just reading about past events, the discovery of
artifacts forms a personal connection with those events, whetting one’s appetite and leading to further
study. Furthermore, the excavation of an archaeological site can create a special bond between place
and person, inviting further interest in the subject. In our experience every individual who contributes
to developing the site, assisting in the conservation of different features, such as the Iron Age
fortifications or the Late Bronze Age cultic building at Tel Burna, gains a connection that perseveres
in subsequent visits to the site and a personal pride in one's part in discovering finds that strengthen
one's rootedness in the history of the land.
Art project as a method of preparing future music teachers for a
professional career
Vladimir Zhivitskiy, Volodymyr Vynnychenko Kirovohrad State Pedagogical University
The problem of training pedagogue-musicians for a professional career entails development of all the
components of readiness as an integral feature of their professional personality, which causes
professionalism of the future specialists. An individual’s artistic potential is one of the most important
components of such readiness. We introduce art projects into the system of preparing future
pedagogues for a professional career as one method for developing individual artistic potential.
Teacher training for the educational process in distance learning environments in
order to ensure the availability and quality of secondary education
Marina V. Lapenok, Olga M. Lapenok, Ural State Pedagogical University, Yekaterinburg,
Russia.
This paper analyzes the experience of the development and use of electronic educational resources
(EER), and a distance learning information environment (DLIE) in order to ensure the availability and
quality of secondary education of Russian Federation; discusses the relevance of teacher training for
30
creation and usage of educational resources for distant learning infomedia technologies at
comprehensive secondary schools, offers scientific evidence for and considers the contents and forms
of organization, teaching and learning materials for the training course. This paper focuses on key
EER development trends and the concept of teachers’ competence development in DLIE usage. The
results of the pedagogical experiment confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method of teacher
training.
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Session 8: Selected Issues in Higher Education
Modernization of Higher Education in Modern Russia: Conflicts,
Development Problems
Elena Grunt, B.N. Elltsin Ural Federal University
This research focuses on the problems and conflicts involved in the modernization of higher education
in contemporary Russia. Much attention is devoted to the students’ attitude to the value of higher
education and to educational reforms. The research objectives were to explore students' attitude to
higher education, to explore the demands of higher education and labor markets, and to explore the
problems of higher education in Russia.
The research methodology combines qualitative and quantitative methods. In-depth interviews with
experts on matters of absorption were conducted in order to identify central issues of concern to higher
education in modern Russia (the experts were rectors and deans of universities in Yekaterinburg). A
representative sample of 1000 students was used. Students were trained in various specialties
(humanities, engineering, and natural sciences). Yekaterinburg is a typical Russian city. It has all the
typical high schools. Therefore, the sample is representative. The author uses a traditional analysis of
documents devoted to these problems.
The author uses factor and typological, structure-functional analyses to investigate this problem.
USPU and the Development of Higher Education in Russia
B. Igoshev, G. Babich, Ural State Pedagogical University
The contemporary condition of higher professional education calls for new styles of management and
systems of academic training, to allow students to apply their academic knowledge and professional
skills to new demands and challenging situations. The report stresses the role of the academic
administration and faculty of Ural State Pedagogical University in implementing a modern academic
paradigm to achieve quality education and high professional ranking. The emphasis is on the strategy
32
and policy of higher pedagogical education as an essential element of the regional innovative
educational system. The idea of creating a regional pedagogical cluster centering on Ural State
Pedagogical University is discussed.
Using curcumin as antioxidant in wine
Shivi Drori, Samaria and the Jordan Rift regional R&D Center, Gary Gellerman, Ariel
University, Maria Stanevsky, Samaria and the Jordan Rift regional R&D Center, Elena
Korotkova, Ariel University.
Use of sulfur dioxide in the food industry is increasingly question, because it can lead to pseudo-
allergy. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of curcumin in return antioxidant natural
potassium metabisulfite (K2S2O5) in red winemaking. We show that curcumin at 100 ppm and 500
ppm retains the properties of wine and controls the level of acetic acid and the development of bacteria
and mold. The use of curcumin as an antioxidant is promising, but the main drawback - the coloring of
wine in yellow must be considered and studied in more detail.
Integration of Western Students in the Israeli Education System
Svetlana Chahashvili-Bolotin, Ruppin Academic Center, Sabina Lissitsa, Ariel University
During the past two decades thousands of immigrants from around the world have arrived in Israel. Of
these, about 25,000 immigrants are from South America (the majority from Argentina); 40,000 are
from English speaking countries (the majority from the US, Canada, and England); and 22,000 are
from France. Despite the similarity between these immigrants (higher human and economic capital
than veteran Israelis), the difference must be emphasized: immigrants from North America and France
came to Israel mostly for religious reasons, while immigrants from South America came due to the
lack of security they felt in their homeland.
The goal of this study is to examine the integration of students who emigrated from Western countries
in the different educational streams (secular, religious, or orthodox) and their academic achievements.
33
The study uses data from the 2011 database of the Israeli Ministry of Education. The final data
included 910,999 students from the Jewish sector: 843,443 (93.7%) were born in Israel to Israeli-born
parents or to parents who had immigrated to Israel by 1987 (second generation Israeli-born students),
and 57,556 (6.3%) were immigrants from Western countries (the student or one of the parents
immigrated to Israel after 1987).
Regarding the integration of immigrant students from Western countries, the study indicates that
immigrants from France tended to enroll in religious or orthodox schools (42% and 39%,
respectively), immigrants from South America, much like second generation Israeli-born students,
tended to attend secular schools (about 62%), and English-speaking immigrants tended mostly towards
orthodox schools (about 53%).
Regarding academic achievements, despite the significant educational resources of the parents the
proportion of students who earned a matriculation certificate among the English and French speaking
immigrant students was lower than that of second generation Israeli-born students (50% of English
speakers and 52% of French speakers received a matriculation certificate, compared to 65% among
second generation Israelis). The proportion of students who earned a matriculation certificate among
the Spanish speaking immigrant students was the highest (68%). One of the main reasons for the lack
of matriculation level studies among English and French speaking immigrant students is the fact that
they often receive an orthodox education (where only about 12% earn a matriculation certificate),
while Spanish speaking immigrants usually attend secular schools. Therefore, the data shows that the
relatively high educational and occupational resources of Western immigrants will not be retained by
the second generation of English and French speaking immigrants.
34
Session 9: Selected Issues in Discipline-Specific Academic
Teaching
Hhermeneutic Experience as Spiritual Phenomenon in Professional
Art Education
Olga .N. Oleksyuk, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University
The spiritual experience is considered to be a spiritual unity of the teacher and student "life
worlds". The factors in the understanding of the work of art interpretative process are inlighted in the
article. Artistically-shaped structure of the personality as a mechanism for
fixing the hermeneutic experience is revealed.
Teaching Mathematics in Primary School Using Games
Yehuda Ashkenazi, Ariel University, Israel
When teachers want their students to practice the material they teach, they should find an interesting
way to accomplish this. Since children like to play games, this can be achieved through games. While
in most of the literature "game" is understood to mean "computer game", in this paper we mean the
most "primitive" type of game. It can include running, jumping, playing with ball games, and
preferably playing outside the classroom. In this paper we will suggest several specific games suitable
for second to sixth grade students. The games were tested successfully on children of that age. The
games were measured by two criteria: How fun they were for the children and how useful they were
for practicing the material learned.
35
Extramural student math competitions
Vladimir I. Zalyapin, Alexander Yu. Evnin
South Ural State University – National Research University
Identifying and selecting talented students and encouraging them to engage in advanced studies of
science disciplines is among the most challenging problems faced by higher education in modern
society. It is well known that subject Olympiads play an important role in solving these problems. The
Olympiads stimulate the intellectual development of students and contribute to their professional self-
determination. Notably, an extramural competition may offer exploratory problems that are
reminiscent of actual scientific research and require considerable time and effort to find a solution.
There is a rich tradition of science competitions at the South Ural State University (SUSU), for
schoolchildren (since 1965) and for students (since 1972), that involve various formats – individual
and team, intramural and extramural. This article discusses the history of the World mathematical
Olympiad movement and considers the role of extramural competitions in enhancing the cognitive
activity of students who major in mathematics, physics and engineering. The article discusses the
organization of such events and gives examples of problems with the respective sources.
36
Session 10: Selected Issues in Higher Education – Continued
Building the Quality System According to the Complex Needs of the Modern
University
Gita Revalde and Leonids Ribickis, Riga Technical University
This paper is devoted to our research and experience of building the quality assurance system at the
university, corresponding to the recent needs and complex tasks of the modern university. It is well
known that in the European Higher Education Area quality assurance must be formed in
correspondence with its Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG). A similar system has
been operating at the Riga Technical University as early as 2001. Traditionally, ESG are mainly used
to evaluate and ensure teaching quality. However, the functions of a modern university have become
rather complex; they include scientific activities, knowledge transfer, lifelong learning, recognition of
prior learning, etc. This means increasing the variety of customers and their expectations. In addition,
the new legal status of the university with the ability to form its own budget, to act as a knowledge
transfer centre, to own real estate, to take loans, has put new demands on the processes, accountability,
administration, and leadership. Moreover, the increasing number of different international university
rankings reflects another aspect of measuring university performance. In the paper we will deal with
the complex approach of building a quality assurance system based on two pillars – ESG and
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model.
Higher education in Russia and its quality
Ludmila V. Russkikh, Southern Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia
The higher education system has been subjected to upgrading in the past 10 years. Education reforms,
mainly conceived to improve its quality, have not improved it, and have managed to deform the best
products of the Soviet education system.
Those interested mention many reasons why most of the innovations in the field of higher education
either do not work or lead to the opposite result. To my mind, these are all manifestations of one of the
principal moments, which is clearly visible in all government reforms in this sphere: on the one hand,
higher education in contemporary Russia has made efforts to become a full member of the world's
37
advanced education community, and on the other hand our country tries to minimize the cost of
education considering its conditions of economic instability. It is a fact is that higher education in
Russia is becoming mass education. According to the statistics, since 1985, the number of graduates
has doubled. The opening of a large number of universities has played a major role in this process.
Some of these schools do not provide education as such, but simply award diplomas. Universities tend
to retain students on a contract basis, which reduces the quality of their training.
Pedagogy of freedom in the educational space of the modern Ukraine
Alla Mikolaiyvna Rastrygina
Volodymyr Vynyichenko Kirovograd State Pedagogical University, Kirovograd, Ukraine
The paper considers fundamental principles of the pedagogy of freedom and defines possibilities of
creating an educational space of free self-determination in contemporary pedagogical practice.
Teaching Computer Programming to Students of Pedagogical Specialties
through the Process of Game Development
Petr I. Alexeevskiy, Pedagogical University of the Ural, Yekaterinburg, Russia
To improve the quality of teaching computer programming to students, an approach based on the
process of game development was introduced. The proposed approach is based on common modern
software engineering techniques, including object-oriented modeling, application programming
interface optimizations, implementation using high-level programming languages, and other steps
involved in the development of computer software. The practical component was organized in the
form of a group project to create a computer game. These guidelines were used to form a set of
specialization subjects. Various data manipulation algorithms were introduced as part of the game
project developed by students. This enabled the students to experience the entire process of creating a
complex computer program from scratch. During implementation of this approach, students showed an
improvement over the main curriculum in some areas. Their motivation for learning programming in
general improved as well. The results obtained suggest that combining the studied techniques and
algorithms in a single project enhances the quality of education.
38
Quality Assurance of Higher Education: Strategies of Higher Education
Universities (Analysis of International Study of Ekaterinburg (Russia) - Ariel
(Israel))
N. Davidovitch, E.I. Demianov, E.V. Lobova, E.V. Pryamikova, T.V. Semenova
Quality of education may be defined by various means. When discovering that the quality of education
in any of the parameters has deteriorated, the causes are usually sought in the delivery of academic
learning rather than in student activities. In the international Ekaterinburg (Russia) - Ariel (Israel)
study the quality of education is portrayed by means of a pattern of expectations and evaluations of
first and second year students. We attempted to assess how the universities influence such a pattern in
order to understand how the university achieves the desired quality of education, including promotion
of student activities.
The research was conducted in two stages. The first stage of the research took place in the spring of
2010. Interviews of first-year students were conducted in universities in Israel (Ariel University, The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Ekaterinburg (Ural State Pedagogical University and Ural State
Medical Academy).1The second stage took place over the winter of 2012 and included third year
students of the same Ekaterinburg universities and first to third year students of Ariel University.
Overall, 20 faculty members and over two thousand students of Ekaterinburg and Israeli universities
participated in the research: 1122 in the first stage and 1155 in the second stage. By virtue of the
international nature of the research we were limited in our methods, and for this reason the research
posed more questions than it delivered results. Nevertheless, specific strategies of universities may be
indicated, conditional on the overall labor market situation as well as the general transformation of the
institution of academia in society.
1 Hereafter referred to in abbreviations - USPU and USMA respectively.
39
Обучение языкам программирования, ориентированным на решение
коммерческих задач, в рамках спецкурсов
С.Г.Ершова
УрГПУ, г.Екатеринбург, Россия
В статье рассматриваются вопросы подготовки студентов к разработке интернет - приложений
в рамках спецкурсов
Ключевые слова: Web-программирование, Web- сайт, язык программирования PHP
The article deals with the preparation of students for the development of web applications within
special courses.
‘Tweeting' about the past. Changes in the collective imagination about the
Holocaust in the social media (the case of Twitter)
Marek Kaźmierczak, Institute of European Culture of AMU, Gniezno
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
The Internet is the „avant garde” of the social and cultural changes in contemporary culture. It does
also concern the changes in the presentation of the Holocaust. The diversity of these changes is
important in the context of the cognitive and axiological status of the past shaped by the patterns of
commemoration typical for popular culture.
The main thesis of the article is: social media, such as Twitter, represent the changes in the
understanding of the Holocaust in contemporary culture. The word „represent” means: „reflect”,
„shape” and „fix”. The thesis will be illustrated through diverse utterances (“tweets”) which are
„peculiar” in the communities of Twitter users. It is interesting that the contents and meanings of these
utterances are taken from popular culture. The educational challenge for us is to use these kinds of
cultural texts as sources of the educational experience.
Many users, who understand the word „Holocaust” from social services like Twitter, do use this word
as a rhetorical trail (for example as metaphor or euphemism), but for other users the Holocaust still is a
real problem. Searching within Twitter, treated as a space of confrontation among different discourses,
ideologies and competences of the users, we should treat this service as a medium which connects
40
language and network. The question is: what kind of the changes – whether short- or long-term –
occurring in the commemoration of the Holocaust could be described in observing services like
Twitter?
The first part of article will concern the definition of the terms Holocaust, collective imaginations,
social media and popular culture. The main thesis of the text will be presented in this part of paper.
The second part of the article will concern the relations between Twitter and other social media from
the perspective of cultural, linguistic and network frameworks. The third part consists of many
exemplifications of the problem which will be useful in creating the typology of”utterances” which
refer to the Holocaust on Twitter.
Syrian model of relations between religion and the state. Historical evolution and
reflection in Constitution of 2012
Mark Novikov, O. Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSLA)
This paper analyzes the Islamization of the region, and the historical dynamics of the legal and
political status of religious organizations in the country. The article raises the issue of the influence of
religion on the state in Syria through the prism of the struggle for sovereignty and national identity.
The paper also describes the legal and practical status of various ethnic, ethno-religious, and ethno-
religious groups in Syria and the dynamics of the relationship between them.
The selection of methods and learning forms using information and
communication technologies in realization of the model of complex learning in
high school
A. Slepukhin, Ural State Pedagogical University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
In order to realize a complex learning model we consider in this article definitions and classifications
of educational methods and forms that use information and communication technologies and offer an
approach to the selection of methods and forms for the main stages of the complex learning model,
based on consideration of the classifications created.
41
Composer-Performing Creativity of Future Teachers of Musical Art in Teaching
Music Theory Courses
Tatiana Stratan-Artyshkova, KSPU, Kirovohrad, Ukraine
The article reveals the significance of composer-performing activity for personal spiritual
development. The internal mechanisms of the creative process of composer-performing are analyzed,
with attention focused on the concepts of artistic perception, creative imagination, empathy, co-
creation, and reflection. These concepts, extrapolated to the sphere of composer-performance training,
become qualitative characteristics of a creative personality of future teachers of music.
Technology forming the pupil's individual learning: Trajectory with using the е-
learning resource
Makeeva Valentina Vladimirovna, Ural State Pedagogical University
Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation
The transition from knowledge, abilities, and skills to personal results determines the need to search
technology for the solution of "learn to study" tasks in the new information conditions. Based on one's
personal activity approach and considering the specifics of teaching a subject, we offer the technology
of realizing the individual educational trajectory (IET) with use of e-learning resources (for example in
physics training). The proposed technology of realization of IET with of e-learning resources cannot
replace cancel full-time tuition, rather supplements it with independent studying of a subject in the
system of distance learning carried out under the leadership of the teacher. Pre-designed didactic
modules (e-learning resources) and deliberately built complex training (LMS - Learning Management
System) for pupils who have chosen training in technologies of realizing an individual educational
trajectory, form the objective conditions for achieving specific learning outcomes.
Mathematical debates as an integral part of the learning process
Nelly Keller, Alexander Domoshnitsky, Roman Yavich, Ariel University
In this report, we want to touch upon two aspects of teaching mathematics in middle and high
school.The first of them is the eternal question of how to teach, to motivate students and make them
involved in the educational process, particularly in mathematics, where the most important factor is
42
the natural gifts. The second aspect concerns the question which became very urgent in the modern
world: what, in fact, we want to teach the students in a world over-saturated with information of any
kind.
As a result of the information blowup, two aspects emerge. On the one hand, straight passing over the
skills and knowledge to the students becomes irrelevant today (just like a teacher or lecturer, merely
speaking to an audience, who is not that relevant for young people, accustomed from childhood to
perceive information through dynamic color visuals). On the other hand, there is a change in emphasis
in the objective function of the educational process from gaining knowledge to acquisition of skills of
working with information, consideration and estimation, and choosing of the optimal strategy
of a number of possibilities.This trend can be seen in the selection of problems in the international
examination PISA (Program for international Student Assessment), in the new curriculum in
mathematics and in the selection of problems in the matriculation exams.
These considerations (along with others) make teachers look for new forms of learning, more
appropriate to the demands of modernity. In this report we suggest the idea of using a mathematical
competition called "Mathematical debate" ("Mathematical fight") as an integral part of the educational
process at different levels of learning mathematics, as an appropriate tool.
43
List of Author and short bio’s
Petr I. Alexeevskiy
A graduate of the Pedagogical University of the Ural, now a post-graduate and assistant tutor
in the Department of Computer Science of the Institute of Informatics and Information
Technologies at the Pedagogical University of the Ural. Areas of specialization include
computer hardware, operating systems, programming languages, application and system
programming.
Yehuda Ashkenazi
Yehuda Ashkenazi is a senior teacher in the Department of Computer Sciences and
Mathematics at Ariel University. Dr. Ashkenazi is conducting research on graph theory,
mathematical education, and in Torah and science. Dr. Ashkenazi has published 3
mathematical textbooks: "Calculus", "Calculus 2", and "Introduction to differential
equations". He has also written a research book on mathematical education: "Teaching
mathematics using games".
Galina Babich
Galina N. Babich is the director of the USPU Department of International Programs, She is a
professor and the author of numerous publications in linguistics, philosophy of higher
education, and the role of international partnerships in university development. She is also the
coordinator of many projects on different levels: all-Russian, regional, and international.
Petra Badke-Schaub
Dr. Petra Badke-Schaub is a professor of design theory and methodology at Delft University
of Technology, NL. She has a background in cognitive and social psychology and did her
PhD on ‘Groups and complex problem solving’. The research focus of her Section Design
Theory and Methodology (DTM) is on the designer and the activity of designing in context.
Her publications – books, journal papers, and conference papers – cover a wide range of
topics such as research methods, defining and analyzing critical situations in design, problem
solving and decision making of individuals and teams in complex environments, the
development of team mental models, experience and creativity in design. In accordance with
her research interests she was also one of the founders of the Special Interest Group (SIG)
Human Behavior in Design.
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Her applied research methods encompass long-term interdisciplinary projects with a focus on
the analysis of case studies of teamwork and leadership processes in design as well as
laboratory and experimental studies on thinking and sketching in design.
Irina Vladimirovna Baskakova
Irina Vladimirovna Baskakova is chair of the Department of Economics at the B. Eltsin Ural
State University.
Candidate, Docent (jr PhD), Russia.
Research interests: Institutional Economics, Russia's economy.
Andrea Bencsik
Prof. Dr. habil Andrea Bencsik CSc. is a professor of economic and management science at
Széchenyi István University of Győr in Hungary and at Univerzita J. Selyeho in Komarno in
Slovakia. Her research is in the fields of knowledge- change- human- and project
management and she also teaches these disciplines. She is the author of a number of scientific
publications as well as a member of several international scientific committees.
Arye Ben-Hayim Arye Ben-Hayim is a PhD Candidate at Bar-Ilan University. His PhD thesis deals with a
comparison between mediating factors in high schools that integrate asynchronous distance
learning. Arye is the Director of MOFET's Online Academy that offers distance learning
courses on the international channel of the MOFET Institute.
Boris Blostotsky Boris Blostotsky is a senior lecturer of Engineering, Physics, and Structural Dynamics
Laboratories at the Ariel University in Israel. He has published 15 articles in peer-reviewed
journals covering laboratory tests, the theory and testing of machines, shake table control
algorithms for research and for engineering education, control algorithms of active controlled
structures, etc. His main publications were in European Earthquake Engineering, Structural
Control and Health Monitoring, The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings, and the
International Journal of Engineering Education. Dr. Blostotsky has presented 15 contributed
lectures in the field of structural engineering and engineering education at international
scientific conferences.
45
Hernan Casakin
Dr. Hernan Casakin is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture of Ariel University,
Israel. He holds a Bachelor's degree in architecture and town planning from the University of
Mar del Plata, Argentina, and a Master's degree and PhD in architecture from the Technion,
IIT, Israel. He had appointments as research fellow in the Department of Cognitive Sciences,
Hamburg University, and the environmental simulation laboratory at Tel Aviv University. He
was a visiting research fellow at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, and at the
Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urbanism, TUDelft, The Netherlands. He is a board
member of four international journals. His research interests and publications are in design
thinking and creativity.
Alexander W. Chizhik
Alexander Chizhik is currently a professor of educational psychology at San Diego State
University. He is a Fulbright Scholar and has directed multiple grants funded by the National
Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and Foundation for Russian-American
Economic Cooperation. The investigations associated with these grants constitute his primary
research focus: intragroup conflict and cooperation. Based on the support from these research
grants, Dr. Chizhik has published articles in the leading social psychology journals, including
Social Psychology Quarterly and Journal of Social Issues. Moreover, he edited a special
issue of the Journal of Social Issues.
Guna Ciemleja
Dr. Guna Ciemleja graduated from the Riga Technical University Faculty of Engineering
Economics in 2005 with a Master's diploma in social sciences-economics. Her doctoral thesis
(2010) focused on the sustainable performance of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Currently she is an assistant professor at RTU. She has professional experience of more than
fifteen years as the chief financial officer in polygraph industry enterprise. Her research area
focuses on: 1) the sustainable development and effectiveness in small and medium-sized
enterprises; 2) citizens' financial literacy problems.
Nitza Davidovitch
Dr. Nitza Davidovitch holds a doctorate degree, awarded by Bar Ilan University, focusing on
the developmental trends of regional colleges and their impact on the higher education system
in Israel. Dr. Davidovitch currently heads the Department of Academic Development at Ariel
University in Ariel, Israel. Her research interests include the structural changes and changing
roles of the higher education system in Israel; educational technologies;
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and academic assessment, student surveys, and student feedback.
Immelyn Domnick
Immelyn Domnick studied cartography and geography in Germany. She has several years of
experience in the implementation of large international projects. Today, she is dean of
Department III of the Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin. In her function as a
professor she teaches in her priority areas of geographic information, cartography, and
geography.
Alexander Domoshnitsky
Alexander Domoshnitsky is the Dean of the Natural Sciences Faculty at Ariel University. His
main specialization is the theory of functional differential equations. He is the author of a
book and more than 80 papers based on his own results in this area. His second specialization
is mathematical education. Working in1993-2000 in the Department of Youth Activities, he
dealt with many successful projects in mathematical education. He was an initiator of math
classes in Israeli schools and scientific camps for children. He dealt with the use of modern
technologies in education and received a grant from the Council for High Education of Israel.
He is the author of idea and organizer of the International Internet Math Olympiad for
Students.
Efraim Elia Efraim Elia is a lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department the Ariel University in Israel.
He is vice head of the Civil Engineering Department and a member of the department's
teaching committee. His research interests include shell structures, structural dynamics,
computational mechanics, and experimental methods. Dr. Efraim has published seven articles
in peer-reviewed international journals covering vibrations of beams, plates and shells,
mechanics of materials, numerical methods, and engineering education. His research was
presented at 16 international scientific conferences. Dr. Efraim is a reviewer in four
international journals. He also has two years of industrial experience as civil engineer.
Alexander Yu. Evnin
Alexander Yu. Evnin is an associate professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics,
South Ural State University, Russia.
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Meri Gabedava Meri Gabedava has a PhD in history and is an associate professor of social and political
sciences at Sokhumi State University. Her research fields are international relations and
international security, as well as Russian - Georgian relations. She is the author of 4
monographs and 29 scientific articles. Some of them were published in Latvia, Lithuania,
Moldova, and Ukraine. In addition to this, Meri Gabedava is head of the Quality Management
Department at the InterBusiness Academy, and she takes part in various activities in order to
improve educational quality in Georgia.
Aleksander R. Gokhman
Aleksander Gokhman is currently a director at the Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Head
of the Department of Physics at South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University. He has
directed multiple grants funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, DAAD,
DFG, SAXONY, EUROCOMISSION and NATO foundations. The investigations associated
with these grants constitute his primary research focus: materials science and pedagogy.
Based on the support of these research grants, Prof. Gokhman published articles in leading
international journals.
Elena Grunt
Dr., Prof., Department of Applied Sociology, B.N. Elltsin Ural Federal University
Member of the Russian Community of Sociologists, the Russian Sociological Society, the
Research Committee on Culture, and the Academy of Discourse Science, Yekaterinburg.
Serves as lecturer and supervisor of post-graduate students. Has published over 150 articles in
scientific publications. Fields of scientific interest: culture and cultural processes; problems of
education, youth, identity; cross-cultural research.
Esti Hefer
Esti Hefer is a fourth year student in industrial engineering at the Jerusalem College of
Engineering (JCE). This research was conducted as part of her senior year project.
Boris Igoshev
Boris M. Igoshev is a Doctor of Education, a professor, rector of Ural State Pedagogical
University, and the author of 366 publications on higher education policy and strategy of
innovative university management. President of the Ural Association of Pedagogical
Universities.
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Jeffrey Kantor
Jeffrey Kantor is a professor (from 2008), department head (from October 2013), and worked
at the Department of Economics and Business Administration at Ariel University from 1983
to 2008. He was a professor at the Faculty of Business Administration, University of Windsor
(Early retirement). Appointed Professor Emeritus. He has a PhD in accounting and finance
from 1984. He is a professional Accountant in the following countries: South Africa-
Chartered Accountant 1976; Israel-Roeh Heshbon 1977; Canada-Chartered Accountant
1978; USA-Certified Public Accountant 2002. He refereed over 60 publications (books and
journal articles). His current research interests are: the accounting profession; Finance /
accounting and tourism; costing; business education.
Marek Kaźmierczak
Marek Kaźmierczak received his PhD from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He
works at the Institute of European Culture of AMU. For five years he studied at the Artes
Liberales Academy – an interdisciplinary liberal arts program at the Jagiellonian University in
Cracow, the University of Silesia, and the University of Warsaw. His fields of interest include
semiology of culture, media studies, and representations of the Holocaust in digital media and
popular culture. His most recent books (in Polish) are titled: Literature in the Network of
Texts (2008) and Auschwitz in the Internet. The Representations of the Holocaust in Popular
Culture (2012).
Tatiana V. Koval
Tatiana Koval is currently a senior lecturer at the Department of High Mathematics of the
Institute of Physics and Mathematics at South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University.
She has carried out multiple investigations related to the application of mathematical statistics
in actual problems of pedagogy and psychology.
Jiri Kriz
Jiri Kriz is assistant dean for study affairs at the Faculty of Business and Management, Brno
University of Technology. He received his PhD from the Brno University of Technology. He
holds a PhD degree in the field of company management and economics. An expert in
information technology, focusing on the area of business intelligence and new approaches,
methods, algorithms and software systems aimed at decision-making in the field of
forecasting and management for real socioeconomic systems.
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Zinaida N. Kurlyand
Zinaida Kurlyand is currently head of the Department of Pedagogy at the Institute of Physics
and Mathematics of the South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University. She has directed
multiple investigations in pedagogy and published in leading social and psychology journals.
Natalja Lace
Dr. N. Lace graduated from Riga Technical University (RTU) (former Riga Polytechnic
Institute), Faculty of Engineering Economics in 1982 with the diploma of engineer-
economist. Her doctoral thesis (1990) focused on alternative choice of engineering decision
making. Currently she is a professor at RTU, head of the Department of Finance. Her research
interests are focused on business financial management as well as on critical success factors
of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Natalja Lace is head of the Master's program in business finance at Riga Technical
University's Faculty of Engineering, Economics, and Management. She is involved in
executing a research project sponsored by the Latvian Government and the Scientific Council
of the Republic of Latvia and EU.
Marina Lapenok
Marina V. Lapenok is a doctor of technical sciences, Head of the Department of Computer
Science, Computer Engineering and Computer Science Teaching Methods, of Ural State
Pedagogical University, Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Olga Lapenok
Olga Lapenok is a senior technician at the Institute of Computer Science and Information
Technologies of the Ural State Pedagogical University, Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Rea Lavi
Rea Lavi has an MA in education from Bar-Ilan University and a B.Sc. in biology and B.Sc.
in psychology from Tel Aviv University. His master’s thesis in the field of science instruction
is titled ‘’Assessing the judgement of secondary school science teachers regarding the
scientific creativity level of their students.’’
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Jan Luhan
Jan Luhan is a senior lecturer at the Department of Informatics at the Faculty of Business and
Management, Brno University of Technology. His research interests are in the field of e-
business and database systems. He teaches PC basics, database systems, e-commerce and
management information systems. He holds a Bachelor's degree in tax advising, a Master's
degree in corporate finances and business, and a PhD degree in company management and
economics. Jan has experience as a lecturer on PC basics for companies and public services.
He actively develops learning materials and practical exercises in his field of interest.
Inga Manasheridze
Inga Manasheridze is the founder and director of InterBusiness Academy. She has received
two ranks: teacher of high category and innovator professor, defectologist . She is founder and
member of the Private Colleges Association of Georgia, a member of the working group that
evaluates educational program standards. She has been a board member of the Congress of
Georgian Jews and has successfully worked there for several years.
Anatoly Merenkov
Anatoly Merenkov, PhD, is a professor and the director of the Department of Political Science
and Sociology at the ISPN Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia. His research
interests are: theory and practice of development, education and the education of the
individual in the family, school, college, and the system of determination of human behavior.
Veronika Novotna
Veronika Novotna is a senior lecturer and research and development secretary of the
Department of Informatics at the Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of
Technology. Education: Master's degree in mathematics - Faculty of Science, Masaryk
University, Brno; PhD - Brno University of Technology. Her scientific work, activities, and
publication focus on how to deal with problems in the sphere of statistics, data mining,
application of differential equations, and dynamic modelling in economy and analyses of
economic time series. She teaches applied statistics, mathematics, and modern programming
methods.
Baruch Offir
Prof. Baruch Offir is a researcher and lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, head of the School of
Education at Ariel University, and headed the project of instruction through computers in the
IDF. He graduated from the University of London with a Rothschild Foundation scholarship.
Prof. Offir has written 85 articles in professional journals as well as books on the
implementation of learning systems within education and learning systems. The articles
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present models suitable for managing a teaching system. These models grew and were
modified based on dozens of field studies that were carried out within the framework of the
Distance Learning Laboratory at Bar-Ilan University. Research carried out by the research
team attempted to identify and define variables that are significant and essential for activation
of learning systems.
Olga Oleksyuk
Olga Oleksyuk is a doctor of pedagogical sciences at the University of Boris Grinchenko,
Ukraine
Svetlana Pushkar
Svetlana Pushkar was born in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. She received her BSc in 1985 at the
Department of Civil Engineering, Dnepropetrovsk Institute of Civil Engineering, Ukraine. In
2001 she completed her MSc and in 2007 she completed her PhD at the Department of Civil
Engineering, the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. Her doctoral thesis
was in the design of sustainable buildings. She is presently a lecturer at Ariel University,
Ariel, Israel.
Bedřich Půža
Bedrich Puza is head of the Department of Informatics at the Faculty of Business and
Management, BUT. Education: M.S, CSc., RNDr. – Faculty of Science, Palacky University,
Olomouc. PhD, assistant professor and associate professor (since 1984), Faculty of Science,
Masaryk University, Brno. Organizer and co-organizer of the scientific Seminary on
Differential Equations in Brno, head of the Dept. of Math. Analysis, Faculty of Science, MU
(1986 - 2002), founder and head of the scientific-research seminary Boundary Value
Problems and accompanied enlarged seminaries with the international participation researcher
of 3 grants. His interests concern decision-making for socioeconomic systems at all levels on
the basis of modern dynamic models.
Alla Rastrygina
Alla Rastrygina is a Doctor of Pedagogy, Full professor, head of the Department of Vocal-
Choral Studies and Methods of Musical Education, Art Faculty, Kirovograd State pedagogical
Volodymyr Vynnychenko University, Kirovograd, Ukraine.
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Dr. Rastrygina has been working at the Faculty of the Arts for 35 years. In 1991 she defended
her dissertation on the problem of forming the future pedagogical culture of the teacher -
musician. In the 2000s she was one of the first in the pedagogical sciences in the Ukraine to
develop the concept of the pedagogics of freedom. In this context, by a perspective direction
of realization of ideas of free education is the creation educational space of free self-
determination of the person that provides conditions for display and development personality
of freedom of the pupils, satisfaction of their base needs requirements and ability to self-
expression. In 2004 she defended her PhD dissertation on this problem. Today her sphere of
scientific interests focuses on questions of the modernization of musical-pedagogical
education in the Ukraine in the context of principles of the pedagogics of freedom.
Boris Resnik
Boris Resnik was born in Russia, Leningrad. After graduating he worked for nearly ten years
working in industry and research as a surveyor. After immigrating to Germany in 1991,
several years of work in various engineering firms and universities followed. In 2004, he was
appointed a professor of surveying and geoinformatics at the Beuth University of Applied
Sciences, Berlin.
Gita Revalde
Asoc. Prof. Dr. Gita Revalde is deputy rector in academic policy and quality affairs at the
Riga Technical University. She was born in Riga, Latvia. From 1983-1988 Gita Revalde
studied physics at the University of Latvia (received an honorary diploma in physics in 1988).
After PhD studies in Riga and the University of Mainz, Germany, in 1996 she received her
PhD. After graduation she remained at the University of Latvia as a lecturer and leading
researcher. In 2005 Gita Revalde began to work at the Ministry of Education and Science of
Latvia, and from 2007 to 2012 she was the director of the Higher Education Department. She
represented the state's interests in EC Director General for higher education, BFUG, Peer
Review Learning, negotiations with the World Bank. She is also an expert at the Higher
Education Council of Latvia and member of the study programme accreditation and licensing
commission. Dr. Gita Revalde has approximately 130 publications and conference
presentations.
Yuri Ribakov Yuri Ribakov is an associate professor and head of the Civil Engineering Department at the
Ariel University in Israel. He has published more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals
covering earthquake engineering and seismic design, reinforced concrete structures,
nondestructive testing of structural materials, and engineering education. He is the co-author
of 11 chapters in edited books. He received two honors for research and 8 awards for
53
teaching. Prof. Ribakov is a member of 5 international journals’ editorial boards, and a
reviewer in more than 30 international journals. Dr. Ribakov has co-authored 3 keynote, 9
invited, and more than 60 contributed lectures in international scientific conferences.
Leonids Ribickis
Professor Dr. Hab. Leonids Ribickis is the Rector of Riga Technical University and head of
the Institute of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Drives. Before his rectorate Prof. Ribickis
worked as a vice rector for research. In 1970 L. Ribickis received a degree in engineering
from Riga Technical University (Faculty of Electrical Engineering) and he obtained his PhD
in 1980. He has been a Dr. habil. sc. ing., at Riga Technical University since 1994.
L. Ribickis is a Full Member of the Latvian Academy of Science, member of the Latvian
Council of Science, member of the Board of the National Economy Council of the Latvian
Ministry of Economy, member of the European Power Electronics and Drives Association
(EPE), IEEE Latvia Section Chair, member of the board of the WEC LNC (World Energy
Council Latvian National Committee), Delegate and Expert of the Republic of Latvia on the
energy commission of the European Union 7th Framework Research workgroup and
Chairman of the Latvian University Association.
The scientific work of L. Ribickis is related to such power and electrical engineering fields as
power electronics, electric drives, electrical machines, process control systems and transport.
As a visiting lecturer, L. Ribickis has lectured at the Norwegian University of Science and
Technology in Trondheim (NTNU) in 1992, the Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy) in
2001, the Tokyo Denki University (Japan) in 2002, and the Tallinn University of Technology
(Estonia) in 2006–2010. He has presented research results at 69 international conferences in
25 countries. He has 342 publications and 30 popular-science articles in journals.
Ludmila Russkikh
Ludmila Russkikh, Dr., Docent, Southern-Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia. A
member of RCS – the Russian Community of Sociologists. Courses Taught: sociology of
culture, sociology of education, methodology and methods of sociological research – for
bachelor's students; methodology of sociological research – for master's students; supervisor
of master's students. She has over 70 scientific publications. Fields of scientific interest:
culture and cultural process; problems of education, methods of sociological research.
54
Shmuel Schacham
Prof. Schacham received his PhD in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University in
1978 and was the head of the optic operation in the newly formed Fibronics Co. He joined the
Department of EE at the Technion as a faculty member in 1981 and has been teaching there
ever since, lately as adjunct professor. In 1992 he established the Department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering at Ariel and served as its head for 12 years. In 1995 he was appointed
Dean of Engineering, a term which ended in 2009 when he became Dean of Students. For the
last 4 years he is also serving as head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and
Mechatronics. Prof. Schacham has more than 100 scientific publications.
Itzhaq Shai
Dr. Itzick Shai is an assistant professor at Ariel University. He finished his PhD on the
Philistine material culture of the Iron Age IIA in 2006 at Bar-Ilan University and was a post-
doctorate fellow at the Semitic Museum in Harvard University. In 2009, together with Dr. Joe
Uziel, he initiated the Tel Burna Excavation Project. Since then he has served as the project’s
director. He has extensive experience in field archaeology from different periods. For the last
15 years he has served as an area supervisor for the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project.
Zvi Shiller
Professor Shiller is the founder of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and
Mechatronics at Ariel University and the director of the Paslin Laboratory for Robotics and
Autonomous Vehicles. He earned his BA degree in engineering from Tel Aviv University,
and his MS and Sc.D. degrees from MIT, all in mechanical engineering. Before joining the
Ariel University in 2001, he served fpr fourteen years on the faculty of the Department of
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UCLA where he led the teaching and research
activities in robotics and directed the Laboratory for Robotics and Automation. Professor
Shiller's research activities have focused on robot motion planning, dynamics and control,
including time-optimal-motion control and obstacle avoidance. His recent work applies these
methods to the navigation and trajectory planning of off-road vehicles, planetary rovers, and
intelligent road vehicles. Prof. Shiller is the founding chair of the Israeli Robotics
Association
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Ze'ev Shtudiner
Ze'ev Shtudiner is the deputy head department of economics and business administration at
Ariel University (beginning next month) where he has been a faculty member since 2010.
Ze'ev completed his PhD in economics at Ben Gurion University. His research interests lie in
the area of experimental economics and behavioral finance with a focus on irrationality of
decision making.
Ruthy Sfez
Dr. Ruthy Sfez received her PhD in chemistry from the Hebrew University in 2003 and is a
senior lecturer in the Advanced Material Engineering Department at the Jerusalem College of
Engineering (JCE). She is head of academic studies in chemistry and students' dean.
A. Slepukhin
Works at chair of information and communication technologies in education of the Ural State
Pedagogical University under the leadership of doctor of pedagogical sciences B.E.
Starichenko. Scientific interests are connected to a methodology of using new information
technologies in the educational process. An active participant in the international conference
which has become a tradition with Ariel University.
Tatiana Borisovna Stratan-Artyshkova Tatiana Borisovna Stratan-Artyshkova is a Doctor of Philosophy, assistant professor at the
Volodymyr Vinnychenko Kirovograd State Pedagogic University, Ukraine.
Arjan van Timmeren
Prof.dr.ir. Arjan van Timmeren (1969) is full professor of environmental technology & design
at the Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology
(TUD) in the Netherlands. In 2006 he finished his PhD on “Autonomy & heteronomy:
Closing cycles in the built environment” Cum Laude. He worked in international well-known
architectural (engineering) offices like Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genova, Italy;
Arribas Arquitectura, Spain, and others in the Netherlands. Since 1998 he is partner in Atelier
2T (Haarlem, the Netherlands), an office dedicated to environmental research and design,
with an emphasis on co-creation and a user centred approach, area development, bio-climatic
design, industrial ecology, sustainability and self-sufficiency. With both his office and chair at
the TU Delft, Prof. van Timmeren is involved in several (inter)national building projects,
ranging from individual housing and business centres, to large ‘climate neutral’ city districts.
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He received several (inter)national awards for his work, and he has seats on International
Scientific Advisory Committees and Expert Panels.
Jelena Titko
Dr. J. Titko graduated from Riga Technical University, Faculty of Engineering Economics, in
2004 with a Master's diploma in the social sciences. Her doctoral thesis (2012) focused on
measuring and managing bank value. She is currently an assistant professor at RTU. She has
professional experience in banking, for several years holding the position of manager of the
customer service center at Parex Bank. Her research area focuses on the drivers and factors
that influence the value of a commercial bank, performance management and customer
relationship management in banking.
Oleg Verbitsky
Oleg Verbitsky received his BS degree in 1982 in Exercise Biochemistry and Physiology
from Simferopol State University, Ukraine; his MS degree in 1991 from the Central Patent
Institute, Moscow, Russia, and his PhD degree in 1992 from the Palladin Institute of
Biochemistry, Kiev, Ukraine. He studied as a Post-Doctorate Fellow: Orthopadic and
Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory during 1995-1998. He served as a laboratory engineer
from 1999 to 2009, and from 2010 to 2013 he assisted as a specialist in an experimental
design and statistical analysis in the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion,
Haifa, Israel. He is the author of a paper on pseudoreplication in cell biology studies. His
major research interest is in analysis of the hierarchical structure in natural (quasi)
experiment.
Roman Yavich
Dr. Roman Yavich is a member of the steering committee of the Israel Mathematical
Olympiad (on behalf of the Ministry of Education), and he specializes in informatics. He
deals with the use of Internet technologies in the education process. He has published many
papers in this area. He is the author of the concept of technical support in organizing the
Internet Math Olympiad
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Vladimir Zhivitskiy
Vladimir Zhivitskiy is a post-graduate student of the Pedagogy and Educational Management
Department of Volodymyr Vynnychenko Kirovohrad State Pedagogical University. His
scientific supervisor is Doctor of Pedagogy, Professor A.M. Rastrygina. His fields of
scientific interest are the professional training of future teacher pedagogues for a professional
career, renewal of the musical-pedagogical education content of future teacher musicians by
means of audio-visual technologies.
Ester Zychlinski
Dr. Ester Zychlinski is the Head of the BA Program in the School of Social Work at Ariel
University. She has over 25 years' experience in the field of community social work. Her
main research areas include: community social work, third sector organizations, cross-sector
partnerships, and philanthropy. Dr. Zychlinski is a senior consultant in these areas to leaders
and directors in the local government, third sector organizations, and philanthropy
organizations.
![[Nitza Rosovsky] City of the Great King Jerusalem(BookZZ.org) · Edited by NITZA ROSOVSKY HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS · Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England · 1996 . Jewish](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5f7124438de31a627c40968c/nitza-rosovsky-city-of-the-great-king-jerusalem-edited-by-nitza-rosovsky-harvard.jpg)
