Vol 30, No 1 (2024)
POLITICS AND SOCIAL SPHERE OF SOCIETY
Trends in the integration of researchers into the social division of labor
Abstract
As the functional role of science in the development of the economy expands, specialists of scientific organizations are becoming an increasingly significant subject of the social division of labor. On the basis of open data of official statistics and the results of a nationwide representative study, the authors of the article show that the expansion of the economic role of science workers is accompanied by the transformation of a large part of their intellectual activity into creative engineering for innovative production. At the same time, the labor of the majority of scientists is transforming from exclusive to mass-production, bringing the nature of their living conditions closer to the way of life of workers of mass professions, partly transforming into precarious labor. At the same time, it is shown that the formation of precariat is not a deviation in the classical form of wage labor, but the transformation of the proletariat as a class into precariat, which is also characteristic of scientific workers.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):6-21
6-21
Citizens and experts on trust in the institutions and policies of the Russian state
Abstract
The article is devoted to the sociological analysis of the level of trust of the Russian society to the authorities in the conditions of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. The events of February 2022 became a turning point not only in the global, but also in the internal Russian socio-political situation, marking the beginning of cardinal transformations in the mood and public position of Russian citizens. Under such conditions, the institution of trust becomes one of the most important priorities in ensuring the sustainability of the Russian statehood. The analysis is based on the comparison of data from expert surveys conducted with the author's participation in 2022-2023 with the results of the all-Russian sociological monitoring "How are you, Russia?" (both studies were conducted by ISPR FCTAS RAS). The assessment of both expert and mass sociological surveys allows us to conclude that the majority of society understands the crucial nature of the special military operation for the future of the country and supports it. Over the two years since the beginning of the special operation, citizens' trust in the president and the institutions of power has grown, the course for the denazification of Ukraine, according to experts, is supported by key actors of civil society (although the categorical attitude to the special operation, whether positive or negative, is gradually being replaced by a neutral one, which may be due to the routinisation of the subject). Based on the analysis of the dynamics of expert assessments and sociological monitoring data, the author concludes that a new social reality has emerged in the country, the distinctive feature of which is the formation of a stable nucleus of social actors that maintain a high level of public trust in the state, but it has not become prevalent and unchanged at the moment.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):22-34
22-34
MODERN PROBLEMS IN A TRANSFORMING SOCIETY
Volunteer researchers in modern science: analysing “Nature” publications
Abstract
The article presents a scientometric analysis of publications on citizen science, i.e., conducted with the participation of non-professional scientists, posted on the portal of the journal Nature, in order to identify the main directions and thematic trends in the field of citizen science over the last 5 years. The article identifies the key thematic clusters to which the reviewed publications belong, and analyses the thematic trends in each of the presented clusters. The search was carried out in English among the publications posted on the portal in the period from 2019 to 2023. The result is presented using computer visualisation and a table of key topics of the reviewed publications; in the future it is planned to expand the study and build a thematic map and scheme of key trends both abroad and in Russia. The analysis shows that the key topics in which volunteer researchers have been involved over the last 5 years have been environmental protection and conservation, publications on biodiversity and climate change, and data analysis in ecology. The authors note a widespread and growing interest in finding scientific volunteers to conduct research, as well as the growing role of volunteer researchers. The participation of non-professional scientists encourages a shift towards interdisciplinary research and promotes the use of different research methodologies. There are trends in the transformation of the role of volunteer researchers from the status of ordinary field researchers to full-fledged participants in research work.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):35-45
35-45
The gender dimension of social mood in modern Russia: the experience of historical and sociological analysis
Abstract
Social mood is the most developed phenomenon of sociological theory and practice, the consideration of which is important for assessment and expertise in times of crises and obvious social changes. Social mood is considered as a phenomenon and an integral characteristic of the perception of life in society, the state of the human spiritual world, an integral form of life perception, the dominant of a really functioning social consciousness and behavior. To identify the gender characteristics of social positions, a primary analysis of the data of the All-Russian sociological monitoring "How are you, Russia?" (1992-2022) during the crisis and turning points of three decades of the modern history of Russia was carried out– 1993, 2001, 2008, 2014, 2022, The data of the research institute "Precariat: a new phenomenon in the socio-economic structure of society" are involved (RNF No.18-18-00024). The empirical basis for the secondary analysis was the data of the All-Russian centers for sociological research, statistical information, and publications in the media in current periods. A comparison of respondents' responses to problems, their prioritization in the opinions of women and men allowed us to identify dominant events, emerging new combinations of crisis phenomena of economic, political, and spiritual orders in the development of Russian society at mega-, meso-, and microlevels. The conclusion is made about the presence of common constants in the social positions of 1993, 2001, 2008, 2014, 2022, the stable reaction of society with the designation of the main problems of high cost of living, crime, social stratification. The situation of gender communities in the periods under review is characterized by an insufficient "safety cushion", alienation from a power resource, differences in assessments of social expectations about a woman's happiness from the point of view of men and women themselves, and the presence of gender-sensitive problems for both women and men.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):46-61
46-61
RESEARCH OF SOCIO-CULTURAL PROCESSES IN CIVIL SOCIETY
The role of the Russian population in the sociocultural integration of peoples North Caucasus: demographic dynamics and perceptions student youth of the Stavropol Territory
Abstract
The article is devoted to the role of the Russian population in the sociocultural integration of the North Caucasus. The declining sociocultural status and negative migration and demographic dynamics of the Russian population of the North Caucasus have a negative impact on the further development of the region. The risks of reducing the role of Russian culture and weakening the mental basis of Russian sociocultural identity are increasing. Based on a sociological analysis of integration processes in the region, the sociocultural significance of Russians as bearers of the basic institutions of Russian culture and statehood in the process of Soviet and post-Soviet modernization is highlighted. The main reasons for the outflow of the Russian population in the 1980-1990s and the ongoing decline in its number are revealed. Based on a sociological survey, a positive assessment by young people of the contribution of the Russian population to the modernization of the North Caucasus, their positive ideas about the basic features of the national character of Russians living in the North Caucasus, a high degree of integration of young people around the main socio-cultural symbols of all-Russian identity were determined. According to respondents, the main reasons for the outflow of Russians from their region are the lack of prospects for development and self-realization, poverty and unemployment, clanism and corruption. The decline in the Russian population is not perceived by most young people as a significant problem. A high degree of coincidence of positive assessments by respondents of different ethnic groups of the contribution of the Russian population to the development of the North Caucasus was revealed, a significant degree of coincidence was established between the self-description of the communicative ethnic characteristics of Russian respondents and their perception by respondents from among the North Caucasian peoples. The results of the study confirm a steady trend towards strengthening interethnic integration among young people in the North Caucasus region.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):62-79
62-79
Health behavior: theoretical and methodical problems of sociological measurement
Abstract
The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of approaches to the study of health behavior that exist in modern Russian and foreign sociology; identifying theoretical and methodical problems; designation of directions for the development of this issue. The article shows that specific theoretical and methodical problems generated in various approaches can be generalized into two groups. The first correlates with problems of cognitive adequacy of the variables used for analysis. It includes such problems as adapting variables to measure social attitudes or behavior; choosing the optimal way to empirically interpret indicators of health behavior; identifying discrepancies between self-assessments and the results of “objective” measurement. The second group of problems is related to the complexity of the relationships between the components of such behavior, which includes: the mediation of the relationships between the components of health behavior by indicators of a different nature; identification of factors that influence health behavior in different directions, their specificity for various health practices; implementation of conceptual representations in multidimensional data analysis models. The article pays special attention to typological studies as one of the important directions in the development of the problem of sociological measurement of health behavior, which makes it possible to overcome many theoretical and methodical problems. In particular, the advisability of a priori typology of the population being studied is emphasized; testing a number of indicators of health behavior as type-forming attributes; using the experience of conducting typological analysis in subject fields close to the field of health.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):80-93
80-93
MODERN POLITICAL PROCESSES IN RUSSIA AND ABROAD
Political transformations in Poland: will a change of government lead to a change of course?
Abstract
The article examines the consequences of the change of the Polish government, headed by the right-wing Euro-skeptical Law and Justice party, which has led this country since October 2015. The article presents an analysis of the results of the parliamentary elections in Poland, held on October 15, 2023, in which the PiS won a formal victory, which, however failed to form a majority coalition. As a result, the ruling alliance, which received the right to form a government, was made up of the pre-election association of the parties Civic Coalition, which included the Civic Platform parties led by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Modern, the Greens and the Polish Initiative, the Third Way association, which included the parties Poland 2050, the Polish People's Party, the Center for Poland, and the Union the European Democrats, as well as the union of the Left, consisting of the parties New Left and Left together. The assessment of the activities of the leading Polish political parties over the previous four years is given, the main provisions of the election platforms of the main parties and coalitions that were elected to parliament following these elections are analyzed. To identify the dynamics of changes in the political situation in Poland, a comparative analysis of the results of the leading political parties of this country in the elections of 2019 and 2023 was carried out, as well as their main characteristics. The key differences in the approaches of the country's leading parties to the IpR and the Civic Platform on domestic and foreign policy issues, including their attitude to Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, are analyzed. The process of forming a new Polish government and the influence of the country's President Andrzej Duda on it is considered.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):94-108
94-108
Migration of the population of the Republic of Moldova in the context of the country’s prospects for joining the EU
Abstract
The Republic of Moldova is a small country that has recently become a labour resource donor to Russia and OECD countries due to declining living standards, economic issues, lack of social guarantees, and prospects within the country. The article analyses the consequences of citizen emigration for Moldova, focusing on its impact on demographics, socio-economic conditions, and the labour market, since 2014 when Moldova signed an agreement on a visa-free regime with the European Union and many residents of the country were able to freely cross the border and go to European Union countries in order to work. At the same time, special emphasis is placed in the article on the demographic problems that are currently being observed in the country. The authors note that Moldova's accession to the EU entails a demographic crisis due to the fact that young, educated and able-bodied people leave the country, fewer children are born in Moldova every year, the death rate in the country exceeds the birth rate, and the number of marriages is equated to the number of divorces. On the one hand, joining the EU will open up opportunities and broad horizons for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, but on the other hand, the same problems will remain, and therefore, will people want to develop and live in their country? In their study, the authors rely on statistical and sociological data, as well as analytical materials from the Republic of Moldova, OECD countries, UNHCR, etc.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):109-118
109-118
Formation of all-Russian civil identity in the context of regional elites' activities (on the materials of the North Caucasus)
Abstract
The general socio-political situation in the region is analyzed, the centrifugal and centripetal forces that determine the very nature of politics in the region through the prism of ethnic and civic forms of identity are considered. The emergence of new points of ethnopolitical and ethno-religious tension, chauvinistic tendencies, and anti-Semitic sentiments demonstrate a fairly high level of conflict potential and the severity of nationalist manifestations in the region. Such conflict behavior is most often provoked from the outside, including through the use of modern information resources, social networks, using manipulative technologies that have an impact on the masses. These processes indicate the existence of socio-cultural and religious grounds for the growth of discriminatory rhetoric and clashes. The study of these problems is an urgent scientific task in the context of transformation and transit of local identity features. The article also analyzes various forms and approaches of identity formation in the North Caucasus, highlights common and special factors, contradictions in the development of general civil attitudes. The national composition is considered, the role of regional actors in the political management and development of the region is highlighted separately. These issues carry elements of novelty and relevance. The work uses specialized political science techniques: the method of analyzing a specific situation - case-study, secondary analysis of sociological research data. Along with private scientific methods and approaches, general scientific methods and approaches are also used in the study: historical and philosophical methods and approaches (dialectics, the principle of historicism), the system integrative method, comparative studies. In conclusion, recommendations are presented aimed at solving the problems of forming the civil identity of the peoples of the North Caucasus, through the transition of ethnic forms of identity to all-Russian ones.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):119-131
119-131
FLOOR TO THE YOUNG
Current issues of intercultural interaction: experience of western countries
Abstract
The current difficulties of intercultural interaction, experience of counteracting xenophobia and other problems are considered in the framework of the article on the example of Western countries, mainly the United States, as a state with a significant proportion of its population, including in percentage ratio, occupied by representatives of different races and cultures. In the course of the research the relevance and acuteness of the problems of intercultural interaction are assessed, the problems of weakening of peoples' self-awareness and formation of complexes of the race accused of xenophobia, as well as attempts to introduce xenophobic ideas into science are considered. The author also touches upon the topic of selective tolerance. The research is based on the analysis of scientific and informational publications on the topic under study, both domestic and foreign, representing an inside view of the problem. The material considered in the article allows us to conclude that the problems of intercultural relations in the United States are becoming more and more complicated over time, and similar processes are taking place in other Western countries, which gives grounds to recognize the policy of fighting xenophobia as ineffective. These articles can be used as a basis for further research into the problems of intercultural interaction and the possible development of measures for the settlement and subsequent prevention of these problems.
Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(1):132-143
132-143