70 Years on: Remembering Victory in WWII — A View of Post-war Life in the Soviet Union
In the year that marks the 70th anniversary of victory in the Second World War, we talk to Kristy Ironside, who received her BA and MA from the University of Toronto before going on to complete her PhD at the University of Chicago, and who is currently researching life in the Soviet Union in the post-war years. Kristy Ironside’s work examines what the War meant to ordinary people, how their lives changed — and how Soviet society coped with the aftermath.
More Than a Third of Companies Hire Employees Under Fixed-term Contracts
It is becoming more and more common for employers to hire workers under fixed-term contracts. This allows companies to save money and more easily adapt to the changing conditions of the market. Flexible employment regulations do not, however, foster growth in productivity or an adequate reallocation of resources on the labour market, the Deputy Head of HSE’s Laboratory for Labour Market Studies, Larisa Smirrnykh, posits.
A Fresh Look at the Dynamics of Political Radicalization
On 12 January, Chares Demetriou presented his book The Dynamics of Radicalization: A Relational and Comparative Perspective at a seminar of the Laboratory for Economic-Sociological Research. His main research interests are in issues of legitimacy and political violence, social movements and nationalism. In his lecture, Demetriou presented new ways of analysing the radicalisation of political groups.
Master's Degree Increases the Starting Salary by 30%
Students who choose to pursue a master's or postgraduate degree are at a distinct advantage over those who stop after receiving a bachelor's degree, and can expect higher starting salaries and a wider career choice. Some students, particularly those studying the humanities, medicine, and natural sciences, are more likely to pursue further studies beyond the undergraduate programme, observes Yana Roschina, senior research fellow at the HSE's Laboratory of Economics and Social Research, in her report 'Factors Influencing Russian Students' Educational and Employment Plans'.
Top 14 Most Interesting Studies in Economics in 2014, Relevant to Russia
How Russia has become an industrial economy; Class bias in Russia's judicial system; Why Russia could benefit from zero import duties with the EU; Why Russian elites prefer foreign jurisdictions; What is fake economic growth; Why the reforms of the 2000s have failed; Whether currency depreciation must inevitably lead to inflation—these were the most interesting research papers in 2014 relevant to Russia, according to Opec.ru.
Employees Ready to Participate in Company Management
Companies with Russian ownership more often than not have an authoritarian style of management, and their employees participate less frequently in making business decisions than their colleagues from foreign companies. This conclusion was drawn by HSE Professor Azer Efendiev in his paper ‘The Political Regime in Russian Business Entities: Results of Empirical Research’, which was presented at the HSE conference ‘Modern Management: Problems, Hypotheses, and Research’.
Chasing Success May Lead to Burnout
Burnout is a major problem affecting many people today; it is often associated with the accelerating pace of life, society's obsession with consumption, and the pursuit of success. Burnout can equally affect an office employee stuck in a monotonous job and a successful yet disillusioned entrepreneur, according to Alfried A. Laengle, Professor of the HSE's Department of Psychology of Personality and author of the report 'Burnout: Ashes after the Fireworks. Existential and Analytical Understanding and Prevention'.
Top 14 HSE’s Most Interesting Research in 2014
Why are Russians unhappy; who serves the dictators; how to reform control and supervision;Trade versus wars; Russia’s new citizens; what do Russian and Chinese banks have in common; why analysts don’t predict recession; the provincial social environment and physical isolation of rural settlements: the most interesting research by HSE in 2014. According to Opec.ru.
8.9%
is the share of innovative products in total sales made by industrial enterprises.
Belief in Life after Death Affects Suicide Rates
Followers of older, more established religions are less likely to commit suicide than adepts of newer faiths. Factors influencing the risk of suicide include a feeling of isolation from the majority and a belief in life after death, according to a study by Eduard Ponarin, Director of the HSE's Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR) in St. Petersburg, and Vassily Usenko, M.D., Ph.D., from Dnipropetrovsk.