Search

The desire to improve living conditions and social well-being has always determined efforts of both researchers and reformers, especially since the last quarter of the 20th century, filled with different types of development ideas. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda implies accelerating the pace of basic human development with “leaving no one behind”, focusing mainly on improving the standard of living. However, in the contemporary world, well-being has become a multidimensional rather than a purely objective-economic concept, which determines the need for relevant approaches and methods for assessing and ensuring social well-being, especially in the non-western, developing countries. The first part of the article presents an overview of conceptual approaches and empirical methods typically applied in the study of well-being as rather a universal and unambiguous phenomenon, which is not relevant for the contemporary social realities. The second part of the article presents a specific case (Ghana) proving the validity of criticism in relation to the objectively ‘biased’ measurements of social well-being. One of the key social-economic challenges in Ghana is the low standard of living, especially in rural areas and northern regions suffering from the “multidimensional poverty”. In Ghana, basic studies of welfare and measurements of poverty (supported or conducted by the state institutions) rely on the monetized consumption and income approaches, following the European Commission’s definition of poverty as a state of economic deprivation, thus missing its subjective and social dimensions crucial for ensuring equity and social justice. The authors suggest an interpretation of social well-being as a combination of personal (overall satisfaction with life), relational (quality of social connections) and societal (social integration, acceptance, contribution, actualization and coherence, institutional trust) measurements, i.e., a combination of economic wellbeing, life satisfaction and societal well-being in the assessment of poverty and inequality at the national level. This interpretation was tested in the sociological survey conducted in 2022 as a basis for such an understanding of social well-being that aims at reducing inequality and improving living standards through better informed policies and programs.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a complex socially significant disease associated with risks mainly for representatives of groups practicing deviant behavior and requiring special attention from the state and society. The article presents a comprehensive description of representatives of the high-risk group for the HIV infection, including their health status, behavioral characteristics, types, combinations and perceptions of risks, which would allow for a more optimal organization of the work of social and medical services with this group. The article is based on the results of the empirical study conducted in 2022: 3,792 clients of the charitable foundation “Support for Social Initiatives and Public Health” were questioned within the HIV preventive work with representatives of high-risk groups. A significant part of clients are people under 22 years of age (25 %). Their main risks were divided into condition risks and behavioral risks. Condition risks are as follows: current and past illness (29 % were diagnosed with an infection or several ones, including the HIV), unemployment (21 %), difficult financial situation (9 %); and for foreign citizens also lack of citizenship (24 %) and not speaking Russian (5 %). Behavioral risks (actions leading to loss of health or inaction in health protection) are as follows: 15 % of clients use drugs (including with shared equipment for injecting), the majority (76 %) consciously agree to unprotected sex and have multiple sexual partners (the average number is 21 per year). In general, representatives of high-risk groups tend to underestimate their risks, and awareness is not a decisive positive factor, i.e., it does not necessarily change behavior to less risky. Moreover, long-term risk practices together with knowledge of risks and protective measures can negatively affect perceptions of risks; thus, clients with experience of risk behavior consider risks as less dangerous or deny risks in principle, which is an additional risk for both the person and one’s partners.

Since the very birth, the media has exerted a huge impact on masses, which only became more obvious in the contemporary information society, especially given the rapid development of technology and social networks. After a brief theoretical overview, the authors present the results of the sociological survey conducted in two public universities of the Republic of Srpska, which aimed at identifying student estimates of the mass media’s manipulative potential in general and student opinions towards the media coverage of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in particular. The authors designed the survey sample in such a way as to represent students of social sciences and humanities (different educational profiles within these two professional fields) due to the very nature of their studies and to the better knowledge of issues under study by definition (content of courses and requirements to competences in the future professional field). The survey was conducted online, the questionnaire was posted on the Google platform, which allowed not only to share the link but also to receive feedback. The authors wanted to get empirical data proving the fact that the media has a significant influence on the formation of attitudes and value systems of the wider public, including the younger generation represented by the student youth. Given that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has lasted for more than two years, it allows to get a deeper insight into the public perception of such critical issues as not just based on the media coverage or the first emotional reactions after the outbreak of the conflict. The authors wanted to know whether students feel/believe that the media (in general or specific media companies) tend to biased reporting, and what media channels students prefer to get much-needed information. The authors emphasize the need for objective reporting in crisis situations, including various conflicts. Crisis situations are always a great challenge for any media in the perspective of complying with ethical standards of reporting and the pressure of media owners and political forces. The article aims at revealing students’ attitudes towards the causes of such biased reporting and topics that the media is likely to cover in an objective manner.

The issues of improving efficiency of health care institutions are increasingly becoming the center of scientific discussions. The purpose of the study is to examine the subjective assessments of medical organizations staff regarding factors of labor productivity. Objectives of the study: to analyze the existing approaches to the study of labor productivity factors of medical personnel, to study the opinion of medical organizations staff regarding labor productivity factors, to identify the most significant of them, and to conduct a comparative analysis of the data obtained in the course of sociological research in medical organizations providing medical care to patients with cardiovascular diseases in the Kemerovo Region – Kuzbass. The authors have studied the conclusions and findings of selected foreign and domestic experts in this field of research. The presented study identifies the key factors that can increase labor productivity of all categories of personnel on the example of two medical institutions providing care to patients with cardiovascular diseases, namely: presence of a system of material (non-material) incentives, level of material and technical support, moral and psychological climate, working conditions, and regular professional development. Common and special features of two organizations have been shown. Differences in assessing labor productivity factors in different professional categories have been found. The results obtained can be used as a basis for improving personnel policy in direction of increasing labor productivity in health care and medical science institutions.

The problems of the family institution are reflected in the family values transformation. The patterns of family and marriage relations which are traditional for historical Russia come into conflict with modern realities. This transformation affects primarily the youth environment, putting young people in front of a tough choice between socially approved career growth and a quiet feat inconspicuous to the world within family relationships. The all-Russian study “Self-regulation of the Life of Young People in a Changing Social Reality”, conducted in the fall of 2020, revealed problematic aspects of marital relations. The traditional values of the family, which are historically common for Russia, are opposed to a set of modern values characteristic of the liberal model and sometimes inferior to the latter. The course laid down by the founders of communism to eliminate the monogamous family as an economic unit of society gives its late shoots refracting in the individualization of society, leveling the significance of official marriage unions and reducing the number of children in families. The results of the all-Russian sociological survey of young people make it possible to identify the real marital status of young people in Russia and to consider its models. The article analyzes the prevalence of so-called “civil marriages” and the correction of attitudes towards them by official bodies. The author gives the rationale for the growing popularity of the “Japanese model” in marital relations, as well as the reasons that push young people to short-term marriage unions fraught with loneliness. The nature of young people relationship with their parents is considered and different generations of youth are compared. The idea of the respondents about the meaning of the family is investigated and the main motives for marriage are established. The number of children in modern youth families is revealed and trends in various social groups are analyzed. Conclusions are drawn about the instability of the family institution in the modern world and the need to protect it by the state.

The control and supervisory state function reform by a new risk-oriented model implementing has two major complementary goals: reducing the administrative burden on business while enhancing the safety of legally protected values. For the education sector, this model has been implementing since 2015, actualising the study of its applying experience by vocational organisations in the Russian regions under state supervision. The purposes of the study are to investigate the readiness of controlled entities to effectively applying of risk-based state control model, and to collect data for the development of new proposals to improve framework and law enforcement practice of control and supervision activities in education. The study is based on expert assessment of a new model application experience and an analysis of controlled entities opinions on used methodologies. For the first time, the relation of professional educational organisations to indicated problems was investigated and the respondents’ proposals for improving new processes were analysed in the article. The scientific novelty of the study is the applying of

The control and supervisory activities’ reforms in Russia are actively underway: a risk-oriented model during organising the control (supervision) is being introduced. Some control and supervisory agencies implement such model from 2015. The Federal Service for Supervision of Education, despite the lack of a legislative framework at the federal level, recommended to the regions to implement elements of a risk-based model independently. In this regard, it is important to analyse what has changed for educational organisations, what is their attitude to new forms and methodologies of control (supervision). The analysis will make it possible to more thoroughly determine the directions of state policy implementation in the field of risk-oriented model of control and supervisory activities, adjust mechanisms, and adopt appropriate recommendations.

The authors of the article based on the understanding of intellectual property as an immanent component of the innovative economy, an important factor, resource and mechanism of innovation environment and development, note the actualization of this phenomenon in nowadays society of revolutionary technological changes. The article deals with the brief overview of the some features and characteristics of the process of reforming the institute of intellectual property in Ukraine, including regulatory framework, and also is based on the analysis of data gathered in sociological survey «Intellectual property through the eyes of university lecturers and high school teachers», conducted during May-December 2019, method – interview; n = 356. Based on the research results, the authors analyze high school teachers’ and university lecturers’ attitudes to the intellectual property, the factors and mechanisms of protection of intellectual property rights. What are the attitudes towards violation of intellectual property rights in the field of education? How acute is the problem of intellectual property rights (IPR) violation for the participants in the educational process? Is the impact of intellectual property rights violation noticeable on their (high school teachers and university lecturers) day-to-day activities? Who, what institution (organization) should make efforts to protect IPR? These and some other issues are analyzed in the paper. The authors note, among other, that, in general, the problem of IPR violations perceived as quite acute for many (relative majority) of university lecturers and high school teachers, the impact of this problem on respondents’ daily activities is mostly negative. Opinions of respondents on the institution(s), which should make efforts to protect IPR were clarified. Analysis of possible ways (inner and external factors, mechanisms) to enhance the level of protection, public management of the protection process, as well as the development of a culture of IPR is presented also. The authors propose the prospects for further research of the problem.

There has always been an interest in social-pathological problems in the society. Documents confirming our wish to find out the causes of ‘other’ types of behavior as opposed to the ‘usual’/accepted types date back to the Ancient and Middle Ages. The social significance of the study of social-pathological phenomena is evident for they allow to reveal dysfunctionalities in certain structural elements or failed socialization, which are most probably determined by destabilization of the social system and value priorities. Alcoholism as a form of deviant behavior is usually considered the most common and influential factor of destroying the physical and psychological health and of negative changes in human behavior. The article describes the level of alcoholism and the ways of perceiving it in Bosnia and Herzegovina based on the empirical data collected within the broader scientific study of the social changes in one part of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Republic of Srpska. The survey was conducted on the representative sample of 220 respondents (reflecting the social-demographic and social-economic characteristics of the general population) in 7 municipalities of the Republic of Srpska. The questionnaire consisted of both closed and partly open questions to reveal the opinions of the respondents on specific deviant forms of behavior and to find out whether the respondents are engaged in some of these deviant forms depending on their attitudes and knowledge about them.

A brief overview of the modern system of secondary special and higher education in the Russian Federation has been given. The problem of competitiveness of educational institutions in the Russian Federation and the world in General has been raised. Statistical data conducted at the end of 2019 questionnaires among the students of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations the State University of Management (Moscow) and students of the Faculty of Advertising and Internet Communications, the International College of Arts and Communications (Moscow).The influence of several factors on the choice by learners of studying educational institutions has been explored, key factors for choice has been highlighted. The opinions of students in terms of the applicability of disciplines in their future profession, assessment of students of the faculty of the institution, the relevance of the cost of education quality and prospects for future employment in the profession after graduation have been analysed.According to the results of the survey, answers were given to such questions as: how do applicants themselves choose an educational program – their future profession? How do they perceive the educational service provided to them by the educational institution? How do applicants who have already become students evaluate their choice of educational institution, the quality of educational service and prospects for their future employment? What is necessary for the formation of demand for educational service?Based on the conducted sociological research, conclusions regarding the choice of educational institution by applicants have been made. The authors’ recommendations to educational institutions to attract applicants and increase their competitiveness in the market of educational services are given.

The article discusses theoretical foundations of understanding success, substantiates methodological approaches to studying the successfulness of the 20th century individual, and discusses findings of an exploratory research conducted by an international team of scientists. We consider it important to study the social phenomenon such as “succesfulness of a modern individual” in the context of their satisfaction with important aspects of life and work and from the perspective of a wide range of socio-cultural, socio-psychological and demographic determinants. The study uses methods developed in various fields of social and humanitarian science; the methods describe the phenomenon of success in a meaningful way and identify its prevalence and manifestation features in different countries (in this project – Russia, Poland and Belarus) and in specific groups within countries. An exploratory research performed in this way has an interdisciplinary basis and relies on the synthesis of econometric (modeling, correlation and regression analysis), sociological (questionnaire survey), and psychological (testing) methods. The article presents findings of a pilot sociological survey and psychological testing of the population of different cities of Russia (Vologda, Cherepovets, Petrozavodsk, Kolomna), Belarus (Minsk) and Poland (Lublin). The pilot stage of the comparative cross-country study involved empirical testing of the selected tools in determining success factors in different linguistic, cultural and political environments, searching for methodological approaches to the essence of the phenomenon under consideration, and the operationalization of the concepts used. Successfulness has been studied in terms of self-esteem and in relation to life satisfaction. The study covered main spheres and conditions of human life. We tested relevant hypotheses that we had confirmed in the course of regional studies. The scientific significance and novelty of the research lies in the exploratory nature of the project, an attempt to solve a scientific problem by integrating knowledge and methods from various scientific fields. The findings of the study, its conclusions and models can become the basis for the development of a full-fledged concept of “modern successful individual”

The success of the reform of the state control and inspection system depends significantly on taking into account the estimates of all stakeholders, i.e. business, government, and citizens as beneficiaries of the state control and inspection activities; and such estimates should be considered at the stages of planning, monitoring, and evaluating the achieved results. The priority project ‘Reforming State Control and Inspection System in the Russian Federation’ considers citizens’ estimates only if presented by statistical indicators that reflect the nature, frequency, and scale of harm often measured by the control bodies themselves, i.e. such data are prone to distortion. The authors suggest to supplement this system by indicators allowing the citizens to assess the state control and inspection activities and reform. These indicators can be measured in representative surveys, which would allow to balance the existing system of monitoring the state control and inspection activities. The article presents both international and Russian approaches to the sociological study of the efficiency of the state control and inspection system. The authors identify methodological rules of such surveys, such as that all adult citizens should be questioned regardless of their experience of interaction with control bodies. The article also describes the types of public legally protected values and the types of risks that should be part of sociological questionnaires; and suggests some key indicators for the assessment of the state control activities by the citizens: the frequency of facing the need to protect public values (the lower the frequency, the higher the effectiveness); the general estimate of the public values safety (by groups of risks); and the results of citizens’ interaction with the control bodies to protect public values including damage compensation.

The results of sociological survey conducted in 2018 to identify the level of social well-being of the population of Ulan-Ude have been presented. The indicators of social well-being, associated with life satisfaction and cognitive characteristics of the respondents, have been analyzed. Conclusions about the optimistic mood of the urban population, due to the unpretentiousness of life strategies and the hope for the effectiveness of the Republic`s new head`s team have been made. At the same time, a problematic field, associated with the high level of migratory moods of residents, determined by serious problems of the socio-economic development of the republic, – has been highlighted. The authors recommend to raise the level and quality of population’s life, to create new jobs with decent wages, to reduce social inequality and contribute to the preservation of a stable inter-ethnic space for change the situation for the better

The article considers the changes in people’s financial behavior that occurred under the influence of the “structural recession” of the Russian economy. Any changes in the economic behavior of the population in the context of its individual types are caused by transformations taking place in society, proceed from people’s adaptation to new conditions and affect the duration and consequences of crisis processes. The goal of our study is to identify changes in people’s financial behavior caused by the economic crisis of 2014–2015. The paper uses official statistical data and materials of national and regional sociological surveys. We analyze manifestations of the 2014–2015 crisis, such as the changes in the level and use of monetary incomes, bank deposits and loan debt of the population. On the basis of regional sociological studies we reveal the changes in people’s financial behavior. We find out that during the crisis processes the growth rates of bank deposits and loan debt decreased, the structure of savings and credit purposes changed, and the violations in the regularity of loan payments became more frequent. In particular, at the regional level (in the Vologda Oblast), the share of inhabitants with savings has decreased significantly, the share of those who are saving money to use when they retire and the share of car loans have decreased; the share of savings for improving housing conditions, for recreation and travel, as well as the share of loans for urgent needs and unforeseen expenses have increased; the number of cases of overdue monthly payments on loans has increased. At the same time, some components of financial behavior turned out to be insensitive to the changing economic situation, among them – the reasons for refusal to form savings, the most common forms of accumulation, and the criteria for choosing a bank. We conclude that there are no mass deviant practices in the financial behavior of the population of the region in the crisis period; in general, people adapt to the changes that take place in the socio-economic situation. We recommend using the results of the monitoring studies of financial and other types of economic behavior in the activities of regional authorities in order to obtain timely information on current changes and make adequate management decisions

This article deals with the evaluation of the effectiveness of modern technologies in the educational process of the college contributing to the innovative formation of the educational process in the college (for example Sevastopol College of service and trade). The assessment of satisfaction of consumers of educational services is one of the elements of ensuring quality of educational process. The results of internal monitoring of the educational environment are the basis for various kinds of proactive or corrective actions for the institutions of the act, engaged in the training of highly qualified specialists. One of the possible options for obtaining information about the activities of the educational institution in this direction is the survey of recipients of educational services (students).

SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS MOSCOW POPULATION DEVIANT BEHAVIOR