DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF THE NEW ‘NOVEITOR’ THEORY IN GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH

Abstract

This article is the first to present a theory developed by the author that identifies hierarchical levels of‘novelty volume’, which can be elementary, small, significant, large, very large, or mega-large. The author terms theselevels ‘noveitors’. Noveitors are defined as the totality of all forms of energy (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) thatexert a positive emotional effect on individuals and possess novelty. This positive, life-sustaining energy is novel for a specific person, in a specific place, and at a specific time. According to the author's scientific perspective, not all positiveenergy possesses novelty, not all novelty constitutes noveitors, and not all emotions generate noveitors. Consequently,not any positive energy can be classified as a noveitor. The article explains the mechanism of the operation of humannoveitors.The author introduces the corresponding methodological and conceptual framework of the developed theory,which is capable of explaining not only migrants’ motivations but also various processes within geographical science. Inthe study, several ‘energy clusters’ – values that enable the capture of noveitors at higher levels – were identified. Thenew theory has been tested in geographical migration studies carried out in the Republic of Tatarstan using a questionnairedeveloped by the author for foreign nationals studying in Kazan. The survey, conducted on December 4, 2024, involveda total of 572 foreigners hailing from 20 countries, including 304 students from the Preparatory Faculty and 268 studentsfrom the Institute of Management, Economics, and Finance and the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies ofKazan Federal University.