No 3 (2023)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the role and contribution to the domestic sociological science of one of its largest representatives of the second half of the XX century, L.N. Kogan, in connection with the centenary of his birth. A brief biographical sketch of Kogan, an analysis of the process of his formation and development as a sociologist – theorist and empiricist is offered. Some problems of theoretical sociology in the work of the scientist are considered. A general description of the empirical studies conducted under his leadership is given. The final section of the article is devoted to the analysis of the content of L.N.'s activity. Kogan as the founder and head of the Ural Sociological School.

The article presents the history of the formation and problems of sociological studies of young workers conducted at the Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 1960s and 1970s under the guidance of Professor L.N. Kogan. These studies were based on theoretical ideas that economic relations and their corresponding socio-economic behavior should be studied as a two–pronged process – the economization of all social life, on the one hand, and the socialization of economic life, on the other. The main results of research on generational succession in labor, working dynasties as a factor of reproduction of working professions, social problems of labor collectives and workers' dormitories are summarized. The formation of scientific traditions of Ural sociology is shown, conclusions are drawn about the prospects of its development in recent years, including the study of the process of professional socialization of young people within the framework of four main institutional formations: parent family, school, university, enterprise.  

The purpose of this article is to adapt the categories of human resources and capital in relation to the logic of qualitative sociology, which turns to existential everyday life. The starting point of the analysis in it is a person striving for his social self-realization in the context of available objective opportunities that have the form of chances: they can be used or missed in different ways. The situation of choice includes both an objective component and the subjectivity of the acting individual (conscious needs and interests, tastes, value orientations, moods, feelings, volitional characteristics, etc.). As a result, different individuals use the same human resources (chances) in different ways. The subject of the study shifts from the classic question "Who has what?" to the process of turning abstract possibilities into the reality of an individual social situation. Incorporated resources are a continuum, each element of which can become a reality as a result of choice (including imposed) and achievement: (1) abstract potential, the implementation of which depends on a variety of conditions; (2) consumer human resources; (3) labor force; (4) human capital as a resource that creates surplus value in the course of market turnover. In some cases, the resource is sold as labor, and the created surplus product is appropriated by the employer. In others, the individual acts as an entrepreneur, independently bringing his incorporated resources to the market and appropriating the resulting surplus value. Human resources represent only the chances of acquiring one or another real form. The metamorphoses of human resources occur to a significant extent in the context of the market situation. Its main elements are (1) individual potential, (2) availability of vacant jobs, (3) agency of a potential employee and employer, (4) definition of the market situation by its participants.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the textual representation of environmental practices in the thematic communities of the VK social network using the methodology of discourse analysis. The subject of the study was the linguistic and extralinguistic features of the construction of discursive practices related to the collection and processing of recyclable materials in the Tyumen region. Three types of social actors were considered: volunteer, entrepreneurial and official communities. Data were obtained on the genre identity of communities; existing roles, regulations and algorithm of actions and interactions; actors and recipients of messages; logistics and other specifics of the activities of environmental communities reflected in their publications. The differences of social waste management practices implemented by different social actors (government, business, volunteers) are revealed, which are represented in the difference of discursive practices: semantic, grammatical, genre, style difference, as well as in the globality/locality of environmental problematization (chronotope) and the way of perceiving the world. Three types of discursive registers are identified, reflecting the specifics of discursive practices characteristic of the considered ecological communities. The “political and educational” discourse expresses the official position of the authorities and is characterized by a high degree of institutionality and a clear asymmetry of social relations. The “specifically training” discourse is distinguished by building partnerships, non-profit activities and its training goals. In the “advertising and educational” discourse the proposed ecological lifestyle is associated with receiving financial bonuses.  

The public communication campaign is one of most important tools for mitigating and managing the public health risk situation. The semiotic content analysis of media reports on the First Channel of Russian television during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 were used to identify the temporal and structural phases of the communication campaign and to evaluate its effectiveness in shaping public views and behavior. The semantic dimension of media reports included five categories: monitoring the course of the epidemic, causes, medical aspects, policy measures and the impact. The semiotic dimension included the plot, visual and audio means, and emotional character. Four stages of communication campaign - preparatory, core, culmination and closing stage, identified during the analysis differed by the intensity of reports which had curvilinear form increasing sharply in the first two phases and slowly declining after the culmination. The type of content changed from the discussion of the prevention measures on first phase to larger variety of topics including medical and social impact of the pandemic. Emotional character of reports moved from mostly pessimistic in the first phases to more balanced between optimistic and pessimistic messages and neutral tone at the final phase. Public communication campaign contributed to reaching a few important goals in managing risk situation which includes the increase of risk awareness, legitimating the quarantine and other restriction measures, rise of confidence in the health care system and positive image of medical personnel. However, other key goals remained unattainable: personal relevance of the coronavirus infection remained rather low. Large psychological distance from the issues created the barrier for effective implementation of vaccination measures. Many concerns and fears of people were not addressed in public communication campaign which switched the discussion to other media channels, gave rise to misinformation and prejudices, undermined the trust to official recommendations.  

In the context of a new phase of the evolution of society, characterized by accelerated destructuration, the problem of "agency" requires rethinking. To study the role and potential of individual action in the transformations of the social environment, it is necessary to develop new theoretical models and methodological solutions. For this purpose, a critical review of research in international sociology, as well as recent developments of Russian sociologists, is proposed. Overview of theoretical discussions, including developments in the strategic action fields theоry (Fligstin and McAdam), allows to highlight both the achievements and limitations of the modern international mainstream. The importance of the ontological aspect of the "structure-action" problem is shown, which does not receive sufficient attention in international discussions. The article concludes with the formulation of promising research directions at the macro-, meso- and micro-levels of social reality for understanding the problem of agency, with an emphasis on the potential of Russian sociology. On macro-level, more than in the previous stages of social evolution since the second half of the 20th century, there is absence of any single "center of power", which brings significant variety to manifestations of agency. On meso-level we suggest to integrate into research models the thesis about the increasing nature of structures’ instability, which also implies the opening possibilities of practical interventions. On micro-level further development of the thesis of Fligstein and McAdam about the "social skill" is required, which has not yet received empirical operationalization, for which elaborations of psychologists might be useful.

An interest for the study of rural labor strategies is due to the socio-economic processes in rural areas. Rural population is forced to look out for own adaptation strategies because of agriculture crisis, meagre labor market, and unemployment. Remote countryside is in a most difficult situation, caused by its limited capabilities. The purpose of this article is to study labor behavior of remote countryside population (on the example of Republic of Khakassia). The research focuses on employment at the main place of job, involvement in secondary or episodic employment, maintaining a personal subsidiary farm and motivation for labor activity. Three groups of respondents with different labor activity are identified. The study confirmed that material well-being depends on the labor behavior attitudes.