Book
Потенциал ближнего Севера: экономика, экология, сельские поселения. К 15-летию Угорского проекта: коллективная научная монография / сост. и под ред. Н.Е.Покровского и Т.Г.Нефедовой.
The results of a comprehensive study of the socio-economic, socio-geographical, ecological, socio-cultural and demographic processes occurring in Near North European part of Russia. The current state of urban and rural areas, the problem of the crisis of agriculture, power dynamics, natural attrition and migration, the ways of adaptation to the new socio-economic conditions of the past twenty years. The problems of business development and the role of urban summer residents in the preservation of dying villages, especially info-communication and media consumption of rural residents. The questions of biodiversity, natural and social capital of the region, the provision of ecosystem services. Possibilities of recreational use of the Trans-Volga and development of ecological tourism. The controversy over the impact of globalization on the rural economy and society, a trend towards the revival of economic and social archaism. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the situation in the area Manturovsky Kostroma region, and especially in Ugory-Leontiev rural settlement, which became the main testing ground for interdisciplinary research "Ugory project."
For an objective assessment and prediction of the actual processes taking place in the Middle North, need to see broad panoramas and further prospects of a global trend in which the Near North necessarily built - with more or less success. These trends in the world, despite their apparent distance from the local rural communities and small towns penetrate into local life, modifying it from within. This is the general logic of social change in the world. "Cell" structure of society (small community, everyday practices, traditional and new values, personal biographies of people) is not isolated from the highest levels of the social system. "Cells" carry a large reflection and logic processes. Economic relations, trade (international brands), migration (circulation of the population), information communications (cellular, Internet, satellite TV) - all in one form or another goes to each, arbitrarily small "cell" of society, modifying it. In this sense, trends in world development most directly refracted in reflections of small, local communities. However, the course of globalization has demonstrated a much more complex picture of social change in the world and in some communities: a modernization, linear upward trend appeared not the only brighter processes manifest themselves counter-modernization, counter-globalization and archaism.
While much of the world worries about increasing population, this book looks the other way. It highlights the dramatic fall in fertility rates in all regions of the world. Demographers suggest that by 2050 this will lead to population decline. While environmentally this may be welcomed, there may also be negative impacts on our economies: less workers, an increasing number of elderly, and more unwanted childlessness. In this book, key experts untangle the reasons for not having children; international case studies demonstrate that there are similar but also different reasons operating in different areas and psychologists and sociologists explore the possible impact on children, parents and the elderly. Given that fertility trends are not easy to reverse, the book concludes that more needs to be done to maximize the potential of all children; particularly those who have been at the margins of society.
Some methodological foundations for elaboration of the modern strategies of ecological thinking based on the theoretical biology and on the theory of complex adaptive systems статье are under review in the article. Ecology, being a science of interaction of living organisms and their communities with environment, goes far beyond its primary frames of the biological knowledge and becomes a nodal discipline from which vectors of perspective interdisciplinary synthesis of knowledge diverge. The ecological approach turns to be fruitful in social and humanitarian researches. Ecology of action, ecology of mind, ecology of life, of cognition and of creativity, ecology of thoughts and words, ecology of ideas, ecology of communication and ecology of management – all these conceptual attitudes give evidence of audacious integration of the ecological thinking in wide spheres of the humanitarian and social knowledge, where it gives opportunities for some fresh approaches. The concept of Umwelt coined by Jakob von Uexküll in 1909 and his study of Umwelt (Umweltslehre) are of great significance for the development of the modern ecological universalism and for elaboration of strategic imperatives of the ecological thinking. The concept of Umwelt as a specific environment to which any biological species or its separate individual is adapted and which is constructed by it allows us to elaborate a real interdisciplinary platform for development of the theory of ecology, for holding a reasonable position in discussions about sustainable development and sustainable futures as well as about the role of education for sustainable development of the world.
The paper presents the history of the rise, as well as themes and theoretical foundations os Ugory project, a complex interdisciplinary study of rural communities and the natural capital in one of the regions of the Russian Near North. The article defines the main objectives of the project, as well as its major conceptual approaches.
Nowadays, the NearNorth of Russia undergoes a fateful epoch. The processes of destruction of the old world order in economic, social and cultural relations is not only continuing, but increasing its pace. The omnipresent destruction is manifested through the depopulation of villages and small towns, further decline in agricultural production, "consolidation" (actually closing) of educational institutions and health care centers, and the degradation of infrastructure. The compressed social space of the Middle North of Russia is shrinking in concentric circles around the regional centers, increasing the vastness of social vacuum and the white space, with the latter being gradually occupied by the mutating natural forms. In addition, yet another (opposite) trend can be identified. It is associated with the escalation of migration amongst the dwellers of the large cities, especially megalopolises, to rural areas.
Extensive development of Russian cities, especially Moscow and St. Petersburg, has revealed serious social problems that had previously not been fully taken into account. In particular, the rapid escalation and exacerbation of social problems determine the quality of life in cities. From one perspective, Moscow and St. Petersburg are represented as thriving metropolises possessing a whole set of such social attractors as rich and comfortable residential buildings, shopping malls with international brands, best restaurants, medical facilities and other requisites of the upper classes. However, parallel to these features, the quality of life in metropolitan areas is determined by such parameters as the deteriorating environmental conditions, increase in street (and other types of) crime, unsolvable traffic conditions which reduce inner-city mobility to a minimum, and the decline of anti-terrorist security.
In the Middle North of Russia, especially in the Kostroma region, one particular trend became evident: there has been a transition from the seasonal migration to dachas towards the ‘settled’ migration related not only to the summer recreation, but also to the industrial activity in the framework of modern technologies. Specifically, modern forms of labor in the field of information technology were initially (and still remain to be) exterritorial in nature. Those working with data tend to be indifferent to the location of their job – what is important to them is a point of connection to the network and a portal for entry into hyperspace.
The paper examines the structure, governance, and balance sheets of state-controlled banks in Russia, which accounted for over 55 percent of the total assets in the country's banking system in early 2012. The author offers a credible estimate of the size of the country's state banking sector by including banks that are indirectly owned by public organizations. Contrary to some predictions based on the theoretical literature on economic transition, he explains the relatively high profitability and efficiency of Russian state-controlled banks by pointing to their competitive position in such functions as acquisition and disposal of assets on behalf of the government. Also suggested in the paper is a different way of looking at market concentration in Russia (by consolidating the market shares of core state-controlled banks), which produces a picture of a more concentrated market than officially reported. Lastly, one of the author's interesting conclusions is that China provides a better benchmark than the formerly centrally planned economies of Central and Eastern Europe by which to assess the viability of state ownership of banks in Russia and to evaluate the country's banking sector.
The results of cross-cultural research of implicit theories of innovativeness among students and teachers, representatives of three ethnocultural groups: Russians, the people of the North Caucasus (Chechens and Ingushs) and Tuvinians (N=804) are presented. Intergroup differences in implicit theories of innovativeness are revealed: the ‘individual’ theories of innovativeness prevail among Russians and among the students, the ‘social’ theories of innovativeness are more expressed among respondents from the North Caucasus, Tuva and among the teachers. Using the structural equations modeling the universal model of values impact on implicit theories of innovativeness and attitudes towards innovations is constructed. Values of the Openness to changes and individual theories of innovativeness promote the positive relation to innovations. Results of research have shown that implicit theories of innovativeness differ in different cultures, and values make different impact on the attitudes towards innovations and innovative experience in different cultures.
The paper examines the principles for the supervision of financial conglomerates proposed by BCBS in the consultative document published in December 2011. Moreover, the article proposes a number of suggestions worked out by the authors within the HSE research team.
We address the external effects on public sector efficiency measures acquired using Data Envelopment Analysis. We use the health care system in Russian regions in 2011 to evaluate modern approaches to accounting for external effects. We propose a promising method of correcting DEA efficiency measures. Despite the multiple advantages DEA offers, the usage of this approach carries with it a number of methodological difficulties. Accounting for multiple factors of efficiency calls for more complex methods, among which the most promising are DMU clustering and calculating local production possibility frontiers. Using regression models for estimate correction requires further study due to possible systematic errors during estimation. A mixture of data correction and DMU clustering together with multi-stage DEA seems most promising at the moment. Analyzing several stages of transforming society’s resources into social welfare will allow for picking out the weak points in a state agency’s work.