AbstractVirus mitigation behavior has been and still is a powerful means to fight the COVID‐19 pandemic irrespective of the availability of pharmaceutical means (e.g., vaccines). We drew on health behavior theories to predict health‐protective (coping‐specific) responses and hope (coping non‐specific response) from health‐related cognitions (vulnerability, severity, self‐assessed knowledge, efficacy). In an extension of this model, we proposed orientation to internal (problem‐focused coping) and external (country capability) coping resources as antecedents of health protection and hope; health‐related cognitions were assumed as mediators of this link. We tested these predictions in a large multi‐national multi‐wave study with a cross‐sectional panel at T1 (Baseline, March‐April 2020; N = 57,631 in 113 countries) and a panel subsample at two later time points, T2 (November 2020; N = 3097) and T3 (April 2021; N = 2628). Multilevel models showed that health‐related cognitions predicted health‐protective responses and hope. Problem‐focused coping was mainly linked to health‐protective behaviors (T1‐T3), whereas country capability was mainly linked to hope (T1‐T3). These relationships were partially mediated by health‐related cognitions. We conceptually replicated predictions of health behavior theories within a real health threat, further suggesting how different coping resources are associated with qualitatively distinct outcomes. Both patterns were consistent across countries and time.

The article is devoted to the problem of developing the research activity of University teachers based on the integration of the Action Research into their professional practice. The article presents the substantiation of methodological approaches and principles of Action Research implementation as non-formal method of developing research activity of university teachers. The analysis of the results of foreign and domestic studies revealing modern technologies for the formation of research competencies of teachers is given. The possibilities and advantages of non-formal forms of research as Action Research as an effective mechanism for personal and professional growth of university teachers are considered. The substantiation of Action Research methodology and conceptual foundations of the method in relation to the educational system of the Republic of Kazakhstan are given. The principles for the development of research activity (proactivity, self-reflection, creativity, self-development and self-realization, continuity, integration of all types of educational activities, actualization of learning resources, synergy of efforts of the subjects of the educational process) are determined. There are shown prospects for integrating Action Research approach into the educational practice of Universities. The article reveals the intermediate results of a study conducted within the scientific project on Grant of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan IRN: АR14872311 “Theory and technology for the development of research activity of University teachers based on the integration into practice of non-formal forms of research as Action Research”. Keywords: methodology, methodological approaches, principles, scientific research methods, research activity, Action Research, research culture, research competencies, proactivity, self-reflection.

ABSTRACT The Open Government reform has been actively adopted across various non-democratic regimes, including post-Soviet Central Asia. The reform is supposed to bolster responsiveness and transparency through the active use of information communication technologies, and numerous authoritarian countries have recently adopted and deepened the Open Government reform. In this work, we study whether Open Government reform contributes to responsiveness in autocracies using the case of Kazakhstan under Tokayev’s rule (2019–present). We investigate the concept of the ‘Listening State’ recently adopted in Kazakhstan through the analysis of novel primary data. The perceptions of ordinary citizens reveal that the Open Government reform in the country has not led to the realization of its key goal of increased responsiveness. Therefore, we argue that the Open Government reform has serious limitations in achieving its ultimate goal of a better listening state to people’s needs in autocracies.

Gender inequality in education is a problem in both developed and developing countries. This social phenomenon has many negative consequences (income inequality, decline in human capital, reduction in economic growth, etc.). The purpose of this study is to identify the gender inequality in education through the analysis of gender gaps in access to education in Kazakhstan. The study was conducted within the concept of liberal feminism to assess the participation of women in education. Issues of gender inequality in education were studied through the gender parity index, with a focus on the analysis of the enrollment of women and men in education and their satisfaction with the availability of educational services. The main research methods were economic and statistical analysis and comparison. The source base for the study was statistical data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the period from 2000 to 2022. The limitation of the study was the lack of data for a certain period or by level of education. The study revealed that in Kazakhstan there is a gender inequality in the field of postgraduate education, where the number of students is dominated by women. During the period under review, gender inequality decreased at the master’s level and increased at the doctoral level. At the same time, during the pandemic, gender inequality in education at the master’s level increased, while at the doctoral level it decreased. The main reason for the emergence of gender inequality in the field of postgraduate education is the low attractiveness of employment in the field of education and science on the part of men due to the low level of income in this area. The results obtained indicate the need to increase the prestige of teaching and research activities among the population, including by raising wages and providing decent social security for specialists in this field.

The COVID-19 pandemic actualized questions about the proper management of biomedical waste while creating several regulatory challenges and requiring countries to look for an appropriate response. These issues have become particularly relevant for Kazakhstan, where waste management issues traditionally face inefficient legal regulation and are particularly acute. This study aims to answer the question of what regulatory problems Kazakhstan currently face in the area of proper biomedical waste management, and how existing foreign experience can help solve them. The present study highlights several pertinent challenges within the context of medical waste management. These include issues concerning the licencing activities associated with waste management, the absence of well-defined regional plans for the management of medical waste and the lack of effective strategies to address the proper handling and disposal of this specific category of waste. At the same time, there are reasons to say that the country requires additional technical and expert support in the field of medical waste management.

Widespread problems of rural development have been the subject of scientific analysis and discussions for many years. The current debate is the result of reflections on improving the effectiveness of rural development policy and the search for new approaches to their development at the local level. They are also the result of the need not only to implement the Sustainable Development Goals more effectively but also to reduce the social and economic inequality between the village and the city, which is possible through the development of the digital infrastructure of rural areas. The purpose of the article is to identify priority areas and institutional and legal barriers to the development of digital infrastructure, the tools necessary to overcome them, and regulatory and legal support for the development of digital infrastructure in rural areas. The article identifies the advantages of digital infrastructure for the socio-economic development of rural areas, the priority level of the introduction of digital infrastructure and technologies for various sectors in the life of the rural population, institutional and legal barriers to the development of digital infrastructure of rural areas, as well as tools of regulatory support for the development of digital infrastructure of rural areas. It is concluded that the creation of the necessary regulatory framework that would stimulate the formation of digital infrastructure while protecting the interests of rural residents is the most significant of the problems of rural areas.

Objective: to specify the models of legal regulation in the sphere of biometric identification and authentication with facial recognition technology in order to elaborate recommendations for increasing information security of persons and state-legal protection of their right to privacy.Methods: risk-oriented approach in law and specific legal methods of cognition, such as comparative-legal analysis and juridical forecasting, are significant for the studied topic and allow comparing the legal regulation models used in foreign countries and their unions in the sphere of biometric identification and authentication with facial recognition systems, forecasting the possible risks for the security of biometric data, taking into account the prospects of further dissemination of the modern facial recognition technology, and to shape recommendations on legal protection of biometric data.Results: the ways are proposed to further improve legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and other countries currently developing the legal regulation of biometric data, regarding the admissible criteria for using the facial recognition technology, the elaboration of categorization of biometric systems with a high and low risk levels (by the example of the experience of artificial intelligence regulation in the European Union), and the necessity to introduce a system of prohibitions of mass and unselective surveillance of humans with video surveillance systems, etc.Scientific novelty: consists in identifying a positive advanced foreign experience of developing legal regulation in the sphere of facial recognition based on biometry (European Union, the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), which can be used for further improvement of the national legislation in order to create more effective mechanisms of legal protection of personal data, including biometric information.Practical significance: based on risk-oriented approach and comparative analysis, the research allows elaborating measures for enhancing the legal protection of biometric data and ensuring effective protection of civil rights and freedoms by forecasting further expansion of the modern facial recognition technology.

Purpose This study examines diaspora engagement and return migration programs aimed at providing diaspora youth with an opportunity to obtain higher education in Estonia and Kazakhstan. In particular, the authors sought to identify the main motivations, benefits and challenges of the programs, as well as understand how the programs contribute to the ethnic identity formation of diaspora students.Design/methodology/approach The paper employed a qualitative multiple-case study research design. In both countries, data were collected by means of 26 semi-structured interviews with return migrant students and experts involved in implementing the programs.Findings The study findings suggest that the primary motivations for diaspora youth to return to their homelands are tuition-free higher education, financial support and repatriation prospects in both countries. In Estonia, the scholarship holders struggled with language requirements for university admissions, the cost of living insufficiently covered by the monthly stipend and limited integration opportunities. In Kazakhstan, the students had to face the Russian language barrier and socio-cultural marginalization in their everyday life. It was also found that the return migrant students in Estonia and Kazakhstan develop hybrid identities to integrate into their domestic society. They reinforce their ethnic identities and negotiate their diasporic identities to make sense of their own background and cultural heritage and acclimatize to life in the new context.Originality/value The study provides practical implications for policy implementers and policymakers in Estonia and Kazakhstan. It can also be useful for the worldwide research community interested in exploring education-oriented diaspora engagement and return migration programs and their influence on the ethnic identity of diaspora students.

The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the level and sources of job stress among key business professionals such as economists, financiers and accountants as well as among genders. This cross-sectional study used the Job Stress Survey to collect data on job stress among 702 Kazakhstani business professionals who worked in both public and private organizations. Analysis revealed that the degree of severity and frequency of stress was not high for all business professionals. Results showed that financiers experienced higher stress than economists due to limited opportunity for advancement and disagreeable duties. The study also found that men economists and financiers were stressed from conflicts with other departments more than women of these professions. Our findings provide insights for organizations about the potential ways of preventing and mitigating job stress.

AbstractPsychological research on the predictors of conspiracy theorizing—explaining important social and political events or circumstances as secret plots by malevolent groups—has flourished in recent years. However, research has typically examined only a small number of predictors in one, or a small number of, national contexts. Such approaches make it difficult to examine the relative importance of predictors, and risk overlooking some potentially relevant variables altogether. To overcome this limitation, the present study used machine learning to rank‐order the importance of 115 individual‐ and country‐level variables in predicting conspiracy theorizing. Data were collected from 56,072 respondents across 28 countries during the early weeks of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Echoing previous findings, important predictors at the individual level included societal discontent, paranoia, and personal struggle. Contrary to prior research, important country‐level predictors included indicators of political stability and effective government COVID response, which suggests that conspiracy theorizing may thrive in relatively well‐functioning democracies.