Tag "sociology"

Young women are often discouraged from careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), resulting in fewer young engineers and programmers entering the labour market. A study by Natalia Maloshonok and Irina Shcheglova examines how and why gender stereotypes can disempower female students, leading to poor academic performance and high dropout rates.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the whole country ended up in self-isolation, some people have to ask for support, others prepare themselves in readiness to provide it. Have Russians felt more cautious in recent months, or do people who have been forced to stay at home still remember how to trust and help? In order to find the answers to these questions, we can analyse the data from a new all-Russian survey conducted by HSE Centre for Studies of Civil Society and Non-Profit Sector.

People should radiate happiness but also be able to feel compunction; control themselves, but know when to give free rein to their feelings; love without suffering for it; and experience feelings of excitement and nostalgia without succumbing to emotional distress. Society adheres to a rather contradictory code for the expression of feelings or emotional imperatives. Feelings can lead to either a break in social ties or greater solidarity with others. In this article, IQ.HSE looks at emotional imperatives based on a report that HSE sociologist Olga Simonova presented at the XXI April Conference.

For Russians, job satisfaction plays a significant role in overall life satisfaction. This is especially true for those with higher education and of higher income levels, as well as those who are driven by professional and career achievements. One factor that does not have any effect, however, is gender. It is equally important for men and women that they love their work. These are the findings of a study conducted by the HSE Laboratory of Comparative Social Research (LCSR), which was presented at the XXI April International Academic Conference.

Childlessness can be voluntary or involuntary, driven by a variety of reasons, such as wishing to live for oneself, choosing a career and self-actualisation over childbearing, financial struggles, fear of getting out of shape after childbirth, and many others. Some childless people find it important to be part of a like-minded group, while some others do not care. Indeed, the widespread notion of 'childfree' fails to cover the diversity of attitudes. Sociologist Ilya Lomakin argues for using the less politicised and more inclusive term of 'voluntarily childless'. Based on his study and the resulting report prepared for the HSE's XXI April International Academic Conference, IQ.HSE takes a closer look at people who decide not to procreate.

Multiple factors determine how well immigrants can adapt to living in a new country. According to research, the key factors are social capital, i.e. having friends who can help with housing, employment and other basic needs, and the immigrant's approach to becoming part of their new community and culture (i.e. acculturation attitudes and strategies). A team of HSE researchers examined the relative importance of social capital and acculturation strategies for successful adaptation of immigrants from Central Asia and South Korea living in Moscow. 

People’s values of personal choice, suсh as their attitudes towards abortion, divorce, and premarital sex, are usually determined their level of education, age, religiosity, and social status. At least this is the case in many countries such as the US and those in Europe. In a recent study, HSE sociologists found that in post-Soviet countries, personal values are most determined by people’s level of patriotism.

More than 500 large families in three Russian federal districts were surveyed to explore reasons why couples choose to have many children. Five main patterns were identified, driven by values (partner trust and religious beliefs), socioeconomic circumstances (income and education), and availability of support from extended family and friends.

Not everyone whose income is below the official poverty line consider themselves as outsiders. On the contrary, some of those who feel that they barely make ends meet cannot objectively be considered as abjectly poor. Sociologist Ekaterina Slobodenyuk studied both groups of poor Russians. It turned out that they have little in common, which means they need different kinds of support.

The turnstiles and entrance gates used in municipal transport not only ensure that passengers pay, but also structure their behavior according to age, body size, ability and speed. Many people must maneuver themselves to pass easily through the rotating arms or swinging gates of an Automated Passage Control System (APCS): passengers cannot be too large or too small and must not walk too quickly or too slowly. Sociologists studied how turnstiles impose uniformity on passengers’ physicality and behaviour.