No 5 (2023)

The article discusses the "power determinism" and "power reductionism" ideas, in particular, in relation to the scientific knowledge field. Unlike the classical era of social science, based on the idea of an honest and unbiased search for truth, today the idea of scientific knowledge as politically engaged and subordinate to social movements, acting under various "progressive" slogans, has gained extraordinary popularity. This ideology of conformism in relation to these movements largely occupies a dominant position in the Western university system today. A special role in the process of reducing scientific knowledge to the factor of power was played by the ideas of such left-wing anarchists and pioneers of "cathedral nihilism" as M. Foucault and P. Feyerabend. In their work, one can find sources of a number of popular social movements for which truth is exclusively a product of certain domination forms: class, racial, gender, colonial, etc.; the autonomy of scientific knowledge is denied. In part, the popularity of power determinism is explained by strengthening of the factor of political power and expansion of opportunities for its use and camouflage, in particular, thanks to modern information technologies. Cumulatively, the expansion of "power determinism" and "power reductionism" in the field of sociological knowledge leads to a reducing of its level and authority on a social and global scale.

The article is devoted to the description and analysis of the nominative technique, which belongs to the class of non-randomized survey models designed to obtain sincere answers from respondents in research on sensitive issues. Theoretical origins and methodological foundations of the nominative technique are analyzed. Its connection with the methods of multiplicity and the theory of network samples by M. Sirken is traced. A detailed description of the two main versions of the analyzed technique is given: the early one, presented by the «three closest friends of the respondents» method, proposed in the 1970s byM. Sirken, and the later, developed by J. Miller in the middle 1980s taking into account the volume and depth of the respondents' social networks, as well as information about the deviance of «significant others». The organizational, technical and methodological features of these versions are shown. Methods for statistical assessment of the prevalence of the studied types of social deviations for both described models are presented. The advantages and disadvantages, possibilities and limitations of the nominative technique, as well as the conditions for its reliable application are discussed. The results of empirical studies are presented, indicating the superiority of this technique over the self-report method in terms of the reliability and quality of the data obtained. The conclusion is made about the expediency of its use when discussing sensitive issues and topics with respondents.

Abstract. The article reveals the need to rethink the heuristic potential of dichotomy as a cognition method in the research of contemporary social reality, which characterizes by its structure complication and dynamics acceleration. Based on the analysis of recent works by foreign and Russian authors, it gives the description of the understanding of dichotomy and the dichotomous method in social and humanitarian knowledge, its comparison with other terms used to characterize opposites and their relationship, and the separation of dichotomies into scientific and everyday ones. This paper analyzes the practice of applying the dichotomous method in sociological research in recent years: it identifies the main sociological dichotomies and reveals their movement in contemporary sociological knowledge, which consists of the use of established dichotomies in the research of the balance between extremes, the convergence of opposites, overcoming contradictions and, conversely, their exacerbation, polarization of social relations that are observed in the contemporary world, as well as the formation of new binary pairs following the example of the dichotomy «sustainability – vulnerability». It determines the changes in the practice of dichotomous method using in the field of social and sociological cognition: on the one side, there is a transition from its use as the main research method to use in combination with other methods and methodological techniques, which allows solving a wider range of research tasks, on the other side, along with dichotomies, researchers construct two-term polytomies, which their authors call dichotomies. The author reveals significant heuristic possibilities of the dichotomous method for conceptualization, analysis and explanation of the increasingly complex and dynamic contemporary social reality: this method allows you to identify the differences between the research objects, to carry out their comparative analysis and interpretation, to reveal their dualism and opposite sides, while emphasizing the independence and interconnectedness of these extremes, to order and generalize the data obtained on the basis of this method, to develop alternative models of explanation.

A traditional wedding is an important part of the cultural code of the inhabitants of Central Asia. Can a wedding become a point of conflict between generations? The article is devoted to the attitude to wedding traditions of young people from Central Asian countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) who study in Moscow. The research method is asemi-structured interview (N=23). In the interview, the distance between "what parents think is right" and "what kind of wedding I want" is clearly visible. Young people want to hold their own wedding more privately and less burdensome in terms of effort and money spent. There are several reasons for the reproducibility of wedding traditions: - respect for the ancestors, the desire to avoid conflict with relatives, - disenfranchisement of girls as a gender norm, - the need of families to demonstrate their success, - fear of shame, loss of reputation. The attitude of young people to a traditional wedding varies. Someone is willing to voluntarily follow traditional wedding rituals. Someone moderately criticizes wedding traditions, but is ready to obey them so as not to upset relatives. Someone sharply criticizes traditional wedding ceremonies and intends to hold a wedding contrary to the traditional canon.

Abstract. The article is devoted to the analysis of the value orientations of the youth of the regions of the South of Russia in the context of life goals, methods and conditions for their implementation. The hierarchy of young people's value priorities (life goals) is headed by family, health and material wealth. Self-realization is on the semi-periphery of the value hierarchy, service to society is on the periphery. At the same time, as factors of success in life, interpreted as instrumental values (means of achievement), social conformism (observance of the rule of law, adherence to moral standards), professionalism, good friends and family support come to the fore. Values associated with social responsibility (citizenship, helping others) are of medium importance in the hierarchy of life success factors (means of achieving life goals). The following contradiction has been fixed in the value picture of the world of young people: if life goals are formulated in the paradigm of privacy and traditionalism, then the means of achieving them are considered to a large extent through social conformism and professionalization. The most rational way to regulate the imbalance in the conditions for the realization of life goals that has developed in Russian society, young people consider territorial, including cross-border mobility.

            

The article deals with the methodical problems of the typological analysis of young people on health-saving behavior. Methodical solutions are proposed for the formation of a system of classification characteristics in the form of logical indices that allow for multidimensional classifications. The procedure for imputation of missing data that occurs when using the proposed indices for the purpose of young people typologization is described. The results of a comparative analysis of cluster profiles for three age groups among young people are presented. The conclusion is substantiated that the heuristic potential of indicators of health-saving behavior as basic type-forming attributes in these groups is different.

In this work, based on the materials of a sociological survey of Russians, an analysis of the social well-being of citizens after the onset of the economic crisis and the introduction of external sanctions is carried out. The empirical analysis is based on the data of the all-Russian survey of the population (N=4422) conducted by the authors in May 2022. The data obtained represent the opinion of Russians aged 18 years and older, divided into regions in all federal districts of the Russian Federation. The article presents an examination of two aspects of the social well-being of Russians in the context of the economic crisis. It is concluded that the emotional and psychological aspect is illustrated by an increase in anxiety and an increase in uncertainty about the future, an actualization of the risks of violating personal security. In turn, the behavioral aspect of considering the social well-being of Russians has the opposite character: despite the presence of signs of depression in the emotional background, the majority of Russians are oriented towards constructive actions. In particular, the following empirical results were obtained in the work: almost half of Russians faced the problem of job loss, there are difficulties with employment and a massive decline in incomes of the population. In view of these problems, 2/3 of Russians were forced to change their way of life (this was perceived most painfully by the female part of the population). Despite the general increase in anxiety, the majority of Russians are focused on the implementation of a new life strategy and are actively planning their future: get an education, go into business, change jobs. Correlation analysis showed a strong relationship between changes in the social well-being of the population and such a factor as the destruction of the usual way of life. At the same time, difficulties with work, the disappearance of familiar goods had a much lesser impact on the growth of anxiety among social groups in Russian society than the need to reduce spending and change lifestyles.