Understanding the Operation of Contextual Compatibility through the Relationships among Heritage Intensity, Context Density, and Regulation Degree

It is easy to assume that historic environments consist mainly of traditional pre-modern style buildings; however, contemporary architecture is continuously added to historic environments, and its construction is positively encouraged by international heritage organizations such as UNESCO and ICOMOS. The conditions required for introducing contemporary architecture to historic urban environments manifest through the concept of contextual compatibility. This paper examines the meaning and operation of this compatibility in changing urban historical and cultural environments. It offers an empirical interpretation of ‘compatibility’ using three new conceptual parameters: the level of conservation value and importance designated by the heritage conservation system (heritage intensity), the ratio of contemporary architecture in a historic environment (context density), and the range of controlling measures available for conservation (regulation degree). Based on a content analysis of the relevant literature and a case study of 24 sample sites, this paper illuminates how ‘compatibility’ operates in the field, which sometimes contradicts our common assumptions. The notable findings reveal that heritage intensity and context density in the historical environment are not directly proportional to regulation degree. Meanwhile, low context density tends to correspond with highly detailed regulations and emphasise the physical realization of traditional elements.

Study of attitudes of Kazan residents to the perspective of refusing the use of a personal car as a means of transportation in the city

The article is devoted to the study of the attitude of Kazan residents to the prospect of not using a personal car as a means of transportation in the city. The aim of this study is to develop recommendations to popularize the idea of using public transport services of Kazan city residents on the basis of the analysis and its evaluation. To achieve the goal, the following main tasks were set and solved: a theoretical and empirical interpretation of the main concepts on the topic of the study; a comparative analysis of the volume of public costs from the use of a private car by residents of Kazan and their use of public transport services was carried out; the system of public transport in the city of Kazan was evaluated. The methodological tools of the study included a questionnaire survey and content analysis. As a result of the study, we found that at the moment there is indeed a problem within the city of Kazan, which consists in the impossibility of ensuring the universal transition of residents from the use of private cars to the consumption of public transport services, due to the lack of development of the relevant infrastructure.

Determining factors of retailers’ assortment supply

Modern retailers’ assortment supply is determined by various factors, taking into account the developed business point-of-sale concepts and formats, the chosen organizational and legal form, the characteristics of the consumer segments and the specifics of the current competitors’ market policy. The main aim of the present study is to make a theoretical and empirical interpretation of the essential nature of the factors for determining the assortment supply and on this basis to provide successful examples from the Bulgarian retail practice taking into account the achieved economic outcomes. The outlined research problems presuppose conducting a review of the specialized literature. Conceptual views and opinions on the process of determining assortment supply are presented. The scientific research methods, which are applied, include: factor analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, induction and deduction, illustration. The research outcomes are synthesized in the formulated conclusions and are related to assessing the impact of the studied factors on retailers’ assortment supply.

Models of Inter-Ethnic Interaction of Peoples of the Samara Volga Region (on the Example of the Village Bol’shaya Kamenka of Samara Region)

Introduction. For contemporary humanities one of the urgent problems is the study of the interaction and coexistence of people of different nationalities, as well as the transformation of their ethnic identity in the context of constant interethnic contacts. It is especially important to trace these processes in contact zones, in particular in ethnically mixed villages, an example of which is the village of Bol’shaya Kamenka in Samara region. Research Methods. The authors used historical-comparative and structural-functional methods. They made it possible to analyze the transformations of the cultural and linguistic sphere of the ethnic groups under consideration and determine their results. Field studies were conducted in a qualitative paradigm, in the framework of which an empirical interpretation of the concepts associated with the study was carried out. Results. The article discusses the ethno-territorial structure of the settlement, analyzes the processes of interethnic interaction between Russians and Mordvinians, resulting from the types of ethnic self-awareness / identity of people, in particular, such a component as a sense of oneself. The prospects and significance of the model of consolidation (solidarity) of the rural community in the context of both Russian-Mordvinian and interethnic interaction in the Samara Volga are estimated. Discussion and Conclusion. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the result of the long Russian-Mordovian interaction in the village of Bol’shaya Kamenka of the Samara region was a model of consolidation or solidarity of various ethnic groups. It continues to work now. Not only representatives of ethnic groups historically living in the Samara region have the opportunity to join it, but also migrants who moved here relatively recently.

Chekhov’s Short Story Vanka: Plot, Genre, Interpretation

<p>In modern literary studies the discussion continues about the revision of the traditional concept of Chekhov&rsquo;s story <em>Vanka</em> by I.&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Esaulov. The researcher rejects the naive and empirical interpretation that is inherent in most interpretations, and reveals the genre features of a Christmas story. A common place in the works of his followers was the analysis of the poetics of genre, the attributes of a holiday chronotope, the invisible presence of Christ, the role of the story&rsquo;s hero in the artistic world of the work. In school interpretations of the story, the Christmas miracle is denied on the grounds that it occurs in a child&rsquo;s dream, but the artistic dream is as real as any other &ldquo;real&rdquo; event in the work. In the poetics of the Christmas story, the impossible is possible, the miracle is genuine: grandfather Konstantin Makarych reads a letter from his grandson. Vanka carefully prepared himself for the implementation of his plan. He had found out how to send the letter, prepared the paper, wrote it, and found the nearest mailbox. It worked out well. By sending a letter &ldquo;to my grandfather&rsquo;s village&rdquo;, Vanka did an act that determined his future fate. He was never the same. The miracle, whether it happened in a dream or in reality, transformed the hero.</p>