Features of the work of effective microorganisms (EM) to solve environmental problems are highlighted. The decontamination activity of EM drugs on model ballast water systems was evaluated. It has been shown that a number of EM drugs work effectively in freshwater model systems, and some drugs work better in "marine" model systems. The time intervals of the effective operation of EM drugs have been determined.

As part of the study of the negative impact of the stage of ship construction on the environment, the data of the shipbuilding en-terprise was analyzed. The main sources of pollution and the volumes of pollutants entering the environment are considered. In the process of analyzing the data obtained, the significance of each pollutant was revealed by determining the reduced masses using the relative aggressiveness indicator. The conclusion is made about the contribution to the negative impact of each workshop (production site) involved in the construction of the vessel.

The article deals with the sand therapy method application at the English language lessons when teaching preschoolers and junior schoolchildren. The authors outline the conditions for conducting such classes, identifies the main difficulties and advantages of using this method. Special attention is paid to possible strategies of “sandplay” method realization within the framework of foreign language lessons.

The article substantiates the need to include Agile technology, Kanban and Scrum systems in the training process of future IT specialists. These systems are implemented in various project management applications. Task trackers are currently widely used by IT companies, as they allow for centralized planning and operational control of tasks performed by a development team, calculating their completion time and key performance indicators, and synchronizing the actions of teams working at different stages of the project. Applications provide communication between departments within the company and communication with customers. The use of task trackers in the educational process allows you to understand the principles of teamwork, forms personal responsibility for achieving a collective goal, increases the competitiveness of a university graduate and forms an integrated approach to training future specialists in the IT field. Knowledge of the operating principles of task trackers must be indicated in the resume. According to employers, the ability to work in a team is a key factor in the list of requirements among skills that are not related to knowledge in the main field of activity. The article outlines the experience of using Russian project management applications in the learning process, their capabilities, the characteristic features of the most famous ones, and also substantiates the interest of students in working in a task tracker: collective planning, defining the goals of a team project, ways and means of achieving them.

The article presents research materials devoted to the study of currently relevant topics – the role (significance) of social networks in the life of students. The study involved students from two Nizhny Novgorod universities (NNGASU, VGUVT). Using an anonymous questionnaire, respondents had to answer a number of questions related to social networks that directly affect not only interpersonal relationships, general health, but also the vital activity of students in general. Using the empirical research method, goals and objectives were put forward, as a result of which the frequency of visits and the needs of using social networks among students were studied.

In this article, the author poses the question in a philosophical and psychological plane. How much and how quantitatively and qualitatively will humanity change existentially and axiological (value wise), culturally in the presence of exponentially self-developing gen-erative artificial intelligence (AI), evolving into artificial consciousness (AI)?

The shipyard's assembly and welding production is a complex production system. Studying the functioning of its individual elements, the relationships between them, and responses to the disturbing influences of external and internal factors in real conditions is difficult, expensive, and timeconsuming. For this purpose, it is appropriate to use digital technologies based on mathematical modeling methods, especially when it comes to modeling systems with flow processes. The use of this practice will allow, without significant expenditure of various types of resources, to quickly find the optimal planning solution for the composition and productivity of equipment, placement of personnel, etc.