Social Workers Seek to Standardise Their Emotions
Social workers tend to believe that society underestimates the complexity of their mission and fails to fully appreciate the gift of caring and compassion that they offer their clients. Experts warn that social work may lead to burnout, unless practitioners are taught the skills of managing their emotions in dealing with clients and equipped with standard algorithms facilitating their 'emotional work' and thus helping to alleviate stress, according to Olga Simonova, Deputy Head of the HSE Department of General Sociology.
Low Self-esteem May Predict Unemployment
Once unemployed, mid-level employees suffer primarily from loss of income, while senior-level leaders mostly resent the loss of respect; of all employee categories, production and service workers are most likely to become unemployed. These are some of the findings summarized in the paper 'The dynamics of subjective social status associated with loss of employment: an analysis of occupational differences', which was presented by Anna Zudina, Junior Research Fellow of the Centre for Labour Market Studies, at the Ninth Yuri Levada Memorial Conference on Contemporary Russian Society and Sociology hosted by HSE.
Sociology on the Internet
On 8th — 11th June the International Conference on Computational Social Science, organised by the University of Aalto took place in Helsinki, attended by many of the leading lights in this new area of academic research where the meeting between sociology and computer science has the potential to design better societies.
Historian and Demographer Focuses on the Role of Forced Displacement in Population History
On Tuesday, May 19, at 6.00 pm, Alain Blum (Centre d’études franco-russe de Moscou, INED and EHESS in Paris) will give a talk at the International Research Seminar in Sociology (School of Sociology) called ‘Forgotten stories of deportees in the USSR — The multiple lives of a single individual’. Ahead of his lecture, he has spoken with the HSE news service on a variety of topics, including his experience as a demographer, his transition into Soviet history, and his upcoming research plans.
Russian Drug Users not Scared of HIV
Research shows that a third of all drug users in the U.S. actively avoid contracting HIV or hepatitis c. This has more to do with the drug addicts’ efforts than with luck. They are able to steer clear of frightening diagnoses thanks to social roles, solid financial strategies, and their painful experience of losing loved ones to AIDS. Russian drug users, on the other hand, are less careful as concerns the risk of infection, according to research conducted by Peter Meylakhs, Senior Research Fellow with HSE St. Petersburg’s Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, and presented at HSE’s XVI April International Academic Conference.
Euthanasia is the Result of Society’s Individualization
Values such as religious beliefs impact attitudes towards euthanasia. The more people value independence and autonomy, the higher their approval is of euthanasia. Conversely, conformism and an adherence to traditions are negatively linked to attitudes towards euthanasia, Maxim Rudnev and Alexandra Savelkaeva, researchers at the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Studies in Mass Consciousness, said at HSE’s XVI April International Academic Conference.
Using Maternity Capital Proves Complex
Maternity capital has supported numerous families in regions across the country, helping people solve their housing problems. At the same time, many people have not accessed these funds, as the programme is quite limited. Maternity capital is not very useful when buying an apartment in the city, as it does not go very far, and two other options for using it – towards children’s education or the mother’s pension – are longer-term issues, noted Elena Gorina, Senior Research Fellow at the HSE’s Institute for Social Development Studies/Center for Studies of Income and Living Standards, during the XVI April International Academic Conference at HSE.
HSE to Join SESS.EuroPhD Consortium
HSE has been officially invited to join the European PhD in Socio-Economic and Statistical Studies (SESS.EuroPhD) Consortium starting from the 2015/2016 academic year. At a recent annual seminar held in Rome, all the participants expressed a strong interest in HSE becoming a full member of the consortium.
Multiculturalism Aids the Development of Russian Society
The broader the ethnic diversity, the greater the level of tolerance to people from other cultures. Multiculturalism has a positive effect on societal development in Russian regions. This is evidenced by research into the relationship between heterogeneity and socio-psychological capital of personality, that was carried out by Leading Research Fellow at the International Scientific-Educational Laboratory for Socio-Cultural Research Alexander Tatarko. The report was presented at the XVI April International Academic Conference.
Urban Intellectuals Preserve Folk Heritage
Even today, ages-old folk culture can serve as a basis for collective identity by bringing together people who share this interest and underlying values, as evidenced by Russia's folk heritage movement. According to Rostislav Kononenko, Senior Lecturer at the HSE's Department of General Sociology, and Evgenia Karpova, Master's student at the HSE, the folk heritage movement in Russia is driven by urban intellectuals working to preserve and promote authentic folk culture.