Research & Expertise news at HSE University

Researchers at the HSE University Centre for Language and Brain, in cooperation with a professor of neuropsychology from Lomonosov Moscow State University and specialists from the Centre for Speech Pathology and Neuro-rehabilitation, evaluated the diagnostic validity of the Standardized Assessment of Reading Skills in Russian (SARS) and checked whether the available normative data are current. The results of the study, the updated levels for reading speed, as well as the control levels for evaluating these indicators, were published in The Russian Journal of Cognitive Science. 

On October 19, the first public presentation and discussion of the HSE Global Cities Innovation Index will take place at this year’s international Open Innovations Forum. The index, developed by HSE University researchers, is the first of its kind.

A team of Russian researchers with the participation of a leading researcher at HSE University, Ekaterina Pechenkova, found that during group problem solving the components of the social brain are co-activated, but they do not increase their coupling during cooperation as would be suggested for a holistic network. The study was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Experts often blame income inequality for a wide range of social ills. They usually calculate its severity using special statistical indices drawn from official tax data or large-scale surveys of individual households. Such analyses create an objective picture and indicate the degree of inequality and the basic factors behind it.

People who inject drugs (PWID) are 24 times more likely to be infected with HIV than the rest of the population. Therefore, HIV and AIDS prevention policy among this group should be different. However, the question remains—how effective is it?

Mathematicians of the Higher School of Economics have calculated the effectiveness of measures taken to fight the coronavirus epidemic in different countries. They have concluded that the scale of anti-epidemic measures does not necessarily directly affect the disease rate, suggesting that one of the main reasons for this is the willingness of citizens to clearly, honestly and consistently comply with anti-epidemic measures.

For years, Russians have failed to develop the ability to adapt to financial vulnerability — that is, to the risk of falling below the poverty line. This is associated with the fact that Russians are less satisfied with life and rate their well-being lower as well. With the prospect of falling poverty an ongoing problem, these indicators have not improved.

The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown have made life difficult for credit institutions and their clients. Citizens’ incomes have decreased, which can lead to an increase in bad debts, and a decrease in the key rate to support the economy makes deposits less and less attractive and deprives banks of an important resource. Banks are compelled to search for new ways to earn money, which carries additional risks, says HSE Banking Institute Director Vasily Solodkov.