Empirical Research Program Research Articles

Freshmen mental health diagnostics in higher education institutions under martial law

Purpose. Empirical study of mental health of first-year students of higher education institutions under martial law conditions. Methods. The research program was developed to achieve the goal, which included four diagnostic methods: the questionnaire ‘Self-assessment of states of anxiety, frustration, aggressiveness and rigidity” (adapted version of H. Eysenck method), the “Resistance to stress” test, “Questionnaire for measuring the locus of health control” (K. Wallston, B.S. Wallston, & R. Devellis) (adaptation by L. Karamushka, K. Tereshchenko, O. Kredentser), “Positive mental health scale (pmh-scale)” (J. Lukat, J. Margraf, R. Lutz, W.M. Van Der Veld, & E.S. Becker) (adaptation by L. Karamushka, O. Kredentser, K. Tereshchenko). Results. According to the study results, it was found that the majority of young people of early adolescence take an ambivalent position in choosing a strategy for assessing their own emotional states and follow the same tactics in choosing options for supporting and preserving mental health under the martial law conditions. They are rigid in the options for its change, since such actions are tested for effectiveness, and therefore have practical value. Such a behavioral strategy helps to keep the degree of anxiety, stress resistance and aggression at average levels, to maintain an internal emotional balance and to feel healthy and happy. Another part of respondents who participate in our empirical study gravitate towards extreme options for controlling their own physical condition. Young people with external locus of control rely more on the help of external circumstances, which will be useful for the return of internal harmony. Students with internal locus of control rely solely on themselves when choosing an option for maintaining mental health. It is difficult to determine which of these positions is more rational, it is important that it is as effective as possible in maintaining mental health. That actualizes the study of the outlined problems. Conclusions. The conducted theoretical and empirical research confirms the effectiveness of the proposed diagnostic program for mental health of first-year students of higher education institutions under the martial law conditions. We see the prospect of further study in the development of empirical research programs of other components of mental health and involvement of persons of various ages into the research.

The impact of corporate financialization on stock price crash risk

In recent years, the continuous occurrence of stock price crashes and the significant financialization trend of non-financial firms have aroused widespread attention from regulators, investors and academia. Based on the panel data of China’s A-share non-financial listed companies from 2010 to 2023, this paper designed a rigorous empirical research program and utilized descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis and other analytical methods to explore the impact of enterprise financialization on stock price crash risk. The empirical results show that enterprise financialization is conducive to attenuating future stock price crash risk.

The NetWorkPlaceTM© Phenomenon

This paper presents an issue related to interior architectural environments, which is currently being investigated through an empirical research program entitled the NetWorkPlaceTM© study. It is delivered from a speculative standpoint which invites consideration and feedback. The radical structuralist conception of Castells’ network society is adopted as the position from which to explore the experience of being-at-work in contemporary organisations. This brings into proximity the experience of the space of place and the space of flows as the new expression of sociability in networked organisations. This juxtapositioning, of what appear to be competing terms, provides the research space for investigating both a contemporary commercial phenomenon and in parallel, for postulating the ideological foundations of interior design. The speculative position, on which this discussion is based, anticipates that the proposed research framework and the experience of the investigative process are ones that also provide an ethical and rigorous foundation for establishing at least one perspective on the formulation of a design ethos.

Socio-psychological prerequisites for constructive patriotism of adolescents and youth: A systematic review of empirical research

Introduction. The problem of constructive patriotism is studied within the framework social psychology. Constructive patriotism is based on positive national identification and attachment to one’s motherland, expressed in readiness to implement prosocial behavior, considered as a contribution to the well-being of the country. The purpose of the study is to summarize the data on socio-psychological prerequisites for the formation of adolescents and youth’s constructive patriotic attitudes. Materials and Methods. A systematic review of empirical studies devoted to the analysis of socio-psychological prerequisites of constructive patriotism, published in the period between 2000 and 2023 was conducted. The review was carried out in 2023 using the electronic bibliographic databases Google Scholar and RSCI. The analysis included articles with full-text Russian-language or English-language abstracts containing the results of original empirical studies on socio-psychological correlates and predictors of constructive patriotism. Out of 2047 analyzed sources, 30 articles were recognized as meeting the selection criteria, which made up the corpus of analyzed publications. Results. The study has revealed five groups of socio-psychological prerequisites for constructive patriotism in adolescent and youth environments: national identity (positive perception of one's own nation based on symbolic attachment and understanding of the prospects for the development of one's country); other components of social identity (global and civic identity); values (first of all, growth values characterized by both individualistic and social orientation); social attitudes (orientation towards social justice and altruism); features of processing social information (reflexivity, rationality as opposed to intuitiveness, critical thinking). The indirect contribution to constructive patriotism of such socio-demographic variables as education and place of residence is taken into account. Conclusions. The results of the systematic review indicate that constructive patriotism is a multi-determined phenomenon and reveal main research directions within constructive patriotism of Russian adolescents and youth, which are significant for the formation of scientifically based programs to promote the formation of patriotic attitudes. The prospects of the research are the development and implementation of an empirical research program aimed at verifying the contribution of the described prerequisites to the constructive patriotic attitudes of adolescents and youth in the conditions of modern Russia.

Undergraduates’ expectations from the educational program “Rural Development Project Management”

The article presents the results of a study of the expectations of undergraduates of the educational program “Rural Development Project Management”. The relevance of the projected results of the Master’s degree program is checked by the representations of student-practitioners from among the employees of the municipalities of the South of Russia. A brief review of the publications shows the relevance and importance of studying the opinions of undergraduates and designing an educational program based on the specification of an educational request. The theoretical analysis of publications in the subject area and methodological approaches in studying the expectations of students in higher education programs formed the basis for the development of an empirical research program. The empirical part presents the results of a survey of undergraduates of the 1st year of study “Rural Development Project Management”. A total of 36 people took part in the survey. The results were processed in the SPSS Statistics program (version 24). The analytical materials obtained are important for improving the Master’s program and improving the quality of educational content.

Psychological and pedagogical support technologies for children with anxiety manifestations in the conditions of a preschool organisation

ABSTRACT The purpose of the article is to analyse the psychological and pedagogical support technologies for children with anxiety manifestations in the educational process. Research methods: theoretical (analysis, synthesis, generalisation of scientific literature on the studied issue); empirical (conversation, identification and development), comparison, test: methods for determining the anxiety level as personal property and as a state; assessment of anxiety manifestations; diagnostics of social intelligence; assessments of social and communicative competence to identify the ability to cooperate, conduct discussions, and perceive criticism; mathematical-statistical and interpretive (analysis, synthesis, systematisation of the data obtained for their visual display). Based on the selected programme of empirical research and selected empirical indicators, the features of the influence that anxiety has on children’s social intelligence development were studied as a percentage. As a result, different children have different depths and intensities of emotions and these characteristics depend on physiological, psychological, and social factors. The practical value of the study is determined by the fact that the results obtained can be used by specialised professionals to complement their own research.

The image of a marriage partner among students of humanities at the beginning of the XXI century

The relevance of the chosen topic is explained by the authors, including with the help of divorce statistics in the modern world. In particular, in Russia, according to Russian Statistics, 47 thousand 537 marriages were registered at the time of February 2023, while the number of divorces is 46 thousand 101. That is, the total number of divorces is almost completely equal to the number of marriages concluded. This fact arouses the interest of many researchers, in particular, and the authors of this article, to the phenomenon of marriage and the image of a marriage partner. It is also necessary to mention (and this is done by the authors, as far as the conciseness of the scientific work allows) and various categories of factors (social, technological, etc.) that affect the attitude to the institution of marriage itself in modern society. The provisions briefly given in this paper reflect the main results of a scientific study that was conducted with the participation of students of the Moscow University for the Humanities. One of the goals of this study was to identify the peculiarities of the ideas of the youth of the 2000s about the image of potential marriage partners. The main hypothesis of the authors is that there are differences between the stereotypes of a representative of the opposite sex and the image of a future marriage partner in boys and girls aged 16 to 20–21 years. In accordance with the proposed theoretical and methodological provisions, the authors have compiled a program of empirical research, which includes the subject, object, goals, objectives and methods, for example, quantitative as well as qualitative processing of the data obtained. The final practical significance of the obtained results is deduced and formulated, the circle of persons who may be interested in the formulated conclusions is determined.

Regime shifts in shallow lakes explained by critical turbidity

Worldwide, water quality managers target a clear, macrophyte-dominated state over a turbid, phytoplankton-dominated state in shallow lakes. The competition mechanisms underlying these ecological states were explored in the 1990s, but the concept of critical turbidity seems neglected in contemporary water quality models. In particular, a simple mechanistic model of alternative stable states in shallow lakes accounting for resource competition mechanisms and critical turbidity is lacking. To this end, we combined Scheffer's theory on critical turbidity with insights from nutrient and light competition theory founded by Tilman, Huisman and Weissing. This resulted in a novel graphical and mathematical model, GPLake-M, that is relatively simple and mechanistically understandable and yet captures the essential mechanisms leading to alternative stable states in shallow lakes. The process-based PCLake model was used to parameterize the model parameters and to test GPLake-M using a pattern-oriented strategy. GPLake-M's application range and position in the model spectrum are discussed. We believe that our results support the fundamental understanding of regime shifts in shallow lakes and provide a starting point for further mechanistic and management-focused explorations and model development. Furthermore, the concept of critical turbidity and the relation between light-limited submerged macrophytes and nutrient-limited phytoplankton might provide a new focus for empirical aquatic ecological research and water quality monitoring programs.

A qualitative inquiry into Christian faith transmission in the family context

ABSTRACT These empirical findings contribute to knowledge regarding Christian faith transmission in the family context, where assumptions are largely un-tested and ideas frequently accepted with minimal critical engagement. The findings presented are part of a three-year empirical research programme comprising in-depth interviews with parents and children in the UK annually, enabling a longitudinal mapping of the child's faith and examination into how family faith activity and involvement may impact it. Play-based interview activities were devised to access authentic and accurate insights into the child's beliefs, perceptions and faith experiences. The data collected was correlated with information about family faith practices and activities to explore potential connections between the two. The 26 case study Christian families revealed fascinating inferences, including that faith discussion in the home is a more significant influence on a child's faith than church attendance, Bible reading or family prayer time. It was striking that the child participants tended to emulate the faith of the parent that they were relationally closest to, reflecting the notion of attachment theory. Some practical implications of these findings are proposed to contribute to the dialogue amidst churches, Christian families and academic contexts regarding how faith may be most effectively transmitted to future generations.

Consumer request of the parent community for transport service for schoolchildren

The article presents the results of an empirical study of the consumer demand of the parent community for transport service for schoolchildren. We formulated the leading trends of consumer demand and research methods of this subject area, based on a brief review of scientific publications on the development of school transport. The theoretical review of scientific publications is used in the development of the program and tools of empirical research. The empirical part of the study of the consumer demand of the parent community for transport services for schoolchildren was conducted in Stavropol Krai (Russia). The problems that exist in this area are collected as a result of discussions in the chats of parent communities (the total number of participants is 463 people), social networks (comments of 324 people), at parent meetings in educational organizations and discussions of teachers (16 parent meetings, 23 teachers from 10 educational organizations). In total, we analyzed opinions on the composition of the problem field of 1132 people. It was developed a logical and semantic model of consumer demand for transport service for schoolchildren, characteristic of residents of Stavropol Krai. The data obtained are important for the development of transport accessibility of educational institutions and the adoption of infrastructure decisions in the programs of socio-economic development of the region and individual territories.

МЕТОДЫ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ СОЦИАЛЬНЫХ ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЙ СТУДЕНТОВ О ТРАДИЦИОННОЙ И ПОЛИВАРИАТИВНОЙ КАРЬЕРЕ В УСЛОВИЯХ РАЗВИТИЯ СОВРЕМЕННОГО ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

The analysis of theoretical sources on the research problem showed that the concept of a multivariate career is still quite young and has not been fully explored, which opens up a fairly large range of promising areas of study. Traditional and multivariate careers can be studied using social ideas, which will help to more accurately and better understand these phenomena. And it is the social ideas of students, as a special socio-psychological and age category, that will be able to provide a clear vision and understanding of the chosen issue. Theoretical approaches to the study of social ideas in domestic and foreign literature were considered, the phenomenon of «career» in modern research was characterized, a program and methods of empirical research were developed, and the results of the study were analyzed and interpreted. It has been scientifically proven that students' multivariate careers mean that they strive to develop not only in one area, but also in several different directions. Among the students of the «Economics » direction, the following areas were identified: «active and active career», «free career», «career associated with starting one’s own business», «career involving continuous development», «integration of lifestyles», «career, associated with risks», «hard career». In the course of conducting an empirical study of students’ social ideas about traditional and multivariate careers, it was possible to develop a program and methods of empirical research; for this purpose, the method of subjective scaling and the «Career Anchors» technique of E. Schein were taken, and the Kruskal-Wallis H-criterion, U-Mann-Whitney test and factor analysis. It was found that, in general, students view modern careers as more multivariate, and also that the social ideas of students in various fields of study about a promising career actually have a certain content specificity. The students studied have the idea that real careers have changed and are still constantly changing due to the demands of the modern world.

Incorporated by the Mainstream: Constructivism in the Theory of International Relations

he article contains a critical surveying of social constructivism in the theory of international relations with the aim of clarifying the essence, peculiarities and contradictions of the constructivist approach to the analysis of world politics, to find out how social constructivism copes with the main functions of social science theory, to evaluate the productivity and further prospects of the sociologization of theorizing in the science of international relations. It is substantiated that the popularity of social constructivism in Western political science at the beginning of the 21st century is not so much related to the convinced reinterpretation of the dominant theoretical doctrines by its representatives, as to the sharp changes in world politics after the end of the Cold War, which were not predicted and convincingly explained by mainstream paradigms. The main concepts used by social constructivism are considered. Accor-ding to constructivists, the way to understanding changes, actions and behavior of actors in the international arena lies through understanding the intersubjectivity of key elements of global politics, as well as state identities and social norms, the combination of which forms interests. The main contribution of constructivism to international analysis is the theorizing around the structure–agency dichotomy, which leads to the conclusion that international anarchy is not inevitable or immutable. The practical development of the military-political doctrines of the leading actors of global politics takes into account those aspects of international relations that social constructivism is concerned with. In particular, traditional strategic deterrence is tried to reducing a competitor’s perception of the benefits of aggression relative to restraint, as well as to forming the opponent’s proper perception of the combat reliability of the actor and partners; their perceptions of their own ability to control the risk of escalation. Having managed to assert itself, social constructivism, for the sake of re-cognition among researchers and practitioners of international relations, was forced to somewhat moderate its original ontological radicalism. It is emphasized that after abandoning its own epistemology, the set of basic theses of canonical constructivism lacks originality, and it usually fails as a basis for an empirical research program. Concrete examples show that the conclusions of constructivists, as a rule, confirm or duplicate the conclusions of representatives of other paradigms, mostly (neo)liberalistic by origin. This refers to state-centrism, the conceptualization of international reality not as a system, but as a society, the analogy of state behavior with the behavior of an individual, making common cause in fact with soft power concept etc. Social constructivism with an emphasis on the sociologization of analysis has considerable heuristic potential, which the initiators of the renewal of constructivism hope for, but it is too early to talk about constructivism as an independent theory and one of the three main pillars of the science of international relations.

ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДХОДЫ К ИЗУЧЕНИЮ СОЦИАЛЬНОГО ИНТЕЛЛЕКТА

The work is devoted to the actual problem of studying social intelligence as a socio-psychological construct that influences the processes of modeling effective communication and achieving goals in activities. Based on the purpose of the study, which is to review theoretical approaches to the study of social intelligence, a description is given of the main scientific approaches to understanding the content of social intelligence: general psychological, factor-analytical, psychometric, structural-genetic, cognitive and ethno-psychological. The analysis made it possible to single out common essential grounds in understanding the content of social intelligence: as a complex general ability, characterized by structure and a set of cognitive, emotional and behavioral components, the subject of which is the prediction of one's own actions and the actions of other people in various situations of interaction; as a personal education associated with the performance of certain activities and the level of development of general intelligence. Particular attention is paid to the ethnopsychological approach to the study of social intelligence, which is due to scientific interest in the problem of ethnocultural characteristics of social intelligence. The influence of the social environment, including the ethnic community, within which the socialization of the individual takes place, on the development of social intelligence is emphasized. It is noted that social thinking and social representations and laws, stereotypes, cognitive schemes established in society have an impact on the formation of a person's social intelligence. The article provides the author's understanding of social intelligence as a structural psychological formation that contributes to the socialization of the individual, ensures adaptation in society and influences the effectiveness and success of social interaction. The functions of social intelligence are also given: cognitive-evaluative, communicative-value and reflective-corrective. The applied significance of the results of this study is to substantiate the initial positions of the authors to develop an empirical research program to study the ethnocultural characteristics of social intelligence.

Creative Self-Realization in the Aspect of Professional Orientation of Gifted Youth

The authors made an attempt to analyze creative self-realization in the aspect of professional orientation of gifted youth. The object of the study is gifted youth aged 14 to 18 years (inclusive) participating in the programs of the Sirius Educational Support Center for Gifted Children in Russia. The subject of the study is the features of creative self-realization in the aspect of choosing a profession by young people aged 14 to 18 years. The purpose of the study: to prepare recommendations and proposals for the leadership of the center to involve young people in the process of choosing a profession in the course of their creative self-realization. The authors put forward the assumption that gifted youth aged 14 to 18 are characterized by instability in the choice of both creative and professional paths. The study was conducted in the educational center “Sirius” by the method of questioning. The initial data are the activities of the Sirius Center, including the Science. Biologists and the results of a survey of 16 pupils of this center, whose age is from 14 to 18 years inclusive. The authors identified and analyzed the features of the professional orientation of gifted youth, the problems of their creative self-realization and their relationship with the choice of profession. The results of the study can be used by institutions implementing programs for gifted youth in Russia. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, based on the study of theoretical sources, a program of empirical research of creative self-realization in the aspect of professional orientation of gifted youth has been developed. The practical significance of the study lies in the development of proposals and recommendations for the institution under study to involve gifted youth in choosing a profession along the path of their creative self-realization, as well as the possibility of using the results of this study in preparing students in the direction 39.04.03 Organization of work with youth in the subject “Management of organizational, cultural -mass, sports and scientific activities”.

Transforming public policy with engaged scholarship: better together

Many people remain invisible in all stages of policymaking processes and are re/harmed by policy decisions made in their absence, even where public engagement has occurred. This lack of meaningful engagement affects those experiencing homelessness, migrant workers, northern and Indigenous women, and others with whom we have collaborated. This article demonstrates the transformative potential of recognising these ‘invisible’ actors as legitimate and effective actors in the policy process. In this article, we present a series of Canadian research vignettes, emerging from our empirical research programmes, that illuminate the possibilities for the principles of engaged scholarship to advance transformative, community-driven policymaking. Along with other critical policy scholars, we are concerned about how power circulates and is distributed unequally through public policy. Our focus in on how commitments manifested through engaged scholarship can disrupt these power distributions. Through our vignettes, we demonstrate how principles of engaged scholarship can shape public engagement, the understanding of policy problems, the creation of evidence, and the development of meaningful policy solutions. This article makes an important contribution on how to improve the processes of public engagement in policy development.

Стендап как индикатор пассионарности: к методологии вопроса

The article deals with a scientific substantiation of the possibility to solve an essential methodological goal — social diagnosis of human capital on some concrete social practice, taken as an indicator. A humorous genre ‘stand-up comedy’ is suggested to be chosen as the indicator. Arguments: 1) It is one of the most energetically developing areas with a youth audience in Russian mass culture. 2) The economic side of the project, its capitalization in the literal sense of the word, is also actively developing. 3) High level of the individual success, which allowed for the consideration of a stand-up comedian as a local ‘growth point’. 4) The last argument allows involving the arsenal of the passion theory, reconsidering the problem from a social energetic point of view. 5) It, therefore, allows considering irregular distribution of stand-up communities localization as an effect of passion theory erosion in a particular region (The Republic of Khakasia). Stand-up was analyzed from different points of view: philosophical, historical, aesthetic, economical, political and micro-sociological. As a result of the analysis a number of provisions were put forward which allow designing empirical research programmes. For instance, by using an idea that laughter is alienated aggression, one may clarify the perspective of social tension studies. Historical analysis showed that stand-up metamorphosed from a Protestant sermon and may be the indicator of westernization of both society and its regional localizations. Political studies of the problem allowed formulating relativity of the social and aesthetic resonance of comedy. Micro-sociological analysis helped to define the mechanism and distribution tendency of passion theory tension in an audience. As a result of the study certain thematic clusters and an algorithm of their logical interdependence were defined, aimed at empirical research, which will make it possible, in short term, to implement methodologically valid study of human capital by using a stand-up comedy as an indicator.

Reflections on an emerging new science of mental disorders

This article reflects on the papers included in the Special Issue on The Network Approach and the Future of Clinical Psychology (Roefs, Jansen, & Fried, 2022). The emergence of major empirical research programs into symptom networks is discussed in relation to the research agenda involving the system dynamics of mental disorders. This research agenda is then related to major themes addressed in the special issue: the integration of empirical results into a larger theoretical framework, the role of mental representations and neurobiological factors, the problem of measurement error, and the presence of heterogeneity. Taken together, the generation of large scale research programs, the availability of new sources of data, and the availability of network approaches creates momentum that may allow us to take crucial steps forward in assessing, modeling, and intervening on mental disorders.

L’appropriation d’outils de la recherche par les enseignants d’Éducation Physique : illustration dans une leçon d’escalade

Nous proposons dans cet article une voie de renouvellement des relations entre le monde de l’enseignement et le monde de la recherche fondée sur la possibilité pour les enseignants de se muer en chercheur dans leurs propres cours. En prenant appui sur le programme de recherche empirique et technologique du cours d’action, les conditions d’une appropriation par l’enseignant de notions et de méthodes habituellement mobilisées dans la recherche sont discutées dans la perspective d’offrir aux enseignants des possibilités nouvelles d’analyse de l’activité des élèves. S’ensuit la présentation d’une étude menée par un enseignant volontaire au cours d’une leçon d’EP en escalade. Les bénéfices et limites de cette enquête menée à partir de notions et de méthodes de la recherche sont mis en perspective avec l’évolution du métier d’enseignant et de la formation initiale.

Personal factors of the transition of young people to family and marriage relations. Idea and program of empirical research

Personal factors of the transition of young people to family and marriage relations. Idea and program of empirical research

Volunteering opportunities in higher education

In this paper, I present the results of empirical research and practical pilot programmes carried out in the frame of an international project. The project was about the promotion of pro bono activities among university students, involving corporate experts and non-profit companies. The conclusions of the research and the pilot programmes implemented over two years, several of which were digitally implemented during the covid period, show that young people are open to volunteering and willing to participate in well-organised and prepared pro bono activities. For higher education institutions, integrating pro bono into the curricular portfolio is an excellent way to increase the practicality of education, strengthen business links and, last but not least, increase young people’s social awareness. The particular value of the pro bono activities carried out digitally during the covid period is how the volunteer programme was able to adapt to the challenges of the virus situation and how it was able to successfully implement pro bono programmes in the online space, involving corporate professionals, non-profit grantees, and academic experts. The conclusions could be useful for professionals in higher education as well as for non-profit organizations on how to make knowledge-sharing pro bono activities work to the benefit of all stakeholders on how to make knowledge-sharing pro bono activities work to the benefit of all stakeholders.