Russian Context Research Articles

ШКАЛА ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ОБЕСПОКОЕННОСТИ У. ШУЛЬЦА: АДАПТАЦИЯ И ВАЛИДИЗАЦИЯ

In order to advance the field of environmental psychology and gain a more profound understanding in the determinants for pro-environmental behavior in the Russian context, it is essential to increase existing research methodology. Therefore, the goal of this study was to adapt and validate the Environmental Concern Scale developed by Schultz in 2001. The methodology was developed based on the value nature of attitude and deals with evaluations of the importance of environmental consequences for oneself, others, and the animal world (egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric concern). Data from three studies which used slightly different question formulations (1333 respondents in total) were analyzed to investigate the three-factor structure of the scale. The tested 12 items of the scale full version showed satisfactory fit with the empirical data. Based on the analysis of covariance and factor loadings, one question was removed for each type of concern. After reduction, the scale showed good model fit, and its factors showed high internal consistency. Importantly, the analysis of the results for the extended formulations did not significantly differ from the abbreviated versions. Consequently, the final version of the concern scale is presented with questions devoid of additional specifications. The convergent validity of the scale was confirmed by the constructs of values and nature connectedness. It was found that all forms of concern were higher in women compared to men. Furthermore, biospheric and altruistic concerns increased with respondents' age and were higher among residents of Russian regions compared to inhabitants of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg.

Отношение к патриотизму и патриотическая самоидентичность российской студенческой молодежи в условиях поляризации российского общества

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objective. </strong>The aim of the study is to analyze the salience and subjective significance of patriotic self-identity, and analyze the attitude towards patriotism among Russian student youth under conditions of polarization of Russian society. <br><strong>Background. </strong>Patriotic education of Russian youth, based on the potential of subject-to-subject interaction and implemented in the current polarization of Russian society, requires analysis of the patriotic self-identity of young people and their attitude towards patriotism. <br><strong>Study design. </strong>We carried out reflexive thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis of respondents' answers to open questions about the manifestations, advantages and shortcomings of patriotism. We evaluated the salience and subjective significance of patriotic self-identity among young people. <br><strong>Participants. </strong>University students from Moscow, Omsk, Penza, Saratov, Smolensk, Khabarovsk (670 Russians ages 18 to 25, <em>M</em> = 19,3, <em>SD</em> = 1,5, 21% of men) participated in the study. Data were collected in October 2022. <br><strong>Measurements. </strong>We used the shortened version of the questionnaire «Who am I?» by M. Kuhn, T. McPartland. We formulated the close-ended question to assess salience of patriotic self-identity, as in the Scale of Rapid Assessment of Ethnic Identity by N.M. Lebedeva, and open-ended questions for the assessment of attitude towards patriotism. <br><strong>Results</strong>. The subjective significance of patriotic self-identity for young people is low. One third of respondents are characterized by a fluctuating patriotic self-identity, one tenth of respondents feel very little patriotic, 6,4% of respondents do not feel patriotic at all. We discovered 5 types of attitudes among students towards patriotism. Recommendations were developed to increase the effectiveness of patriotic education of Russian students in the current conditions. <br><strong>Conclusions. </strong>There are barriers to the formation of a stable patriotic identity for a large part of the Russian student youth. Almost half of respondents identified a request for the development of constructive civic patriotism. In order to increase the effectiveness of patriotic education of young people in the current Russian context it is important to take into account the results of such research.</p>

Service Learning in Russia: Scoping Review

Over the past few years, the Service Learning approach has been increasingly introduced into the practice of Russian higher education institutions. Thereby researchers begin to take an active interest in this topic, and number of publications on service learning in the Russian context is growing. We are witnessing the emergence of a new area of educational research in our country. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to evaluate the successes in scientific knowledge, identify the existing gaps, and develop a programme for further research on service learning in our country. This circumstance determined the author’s interest in this topic and the choice of methodology in favour of a systematic review of the subject field. As a result, the author was able to identify an array of relevant publications, reconstruct the subject field, and identify seven main themes that have been covered to varying degrees in the literature: 1) specificity of the approach; 2) civicism formation; 3) application of reflective practices; 4) use of an evidence-based approach; 5) conceptualization; 6) external partners; and 7) the role of the teacher. The content analysis of the materials made it possible to identify the main characteristics of the publication array, identify lacunas and propose a programme of further research.

Humility and Charismatic Leadership: A Boost or Bust for Leadership Outcomes in the Russian Context

Humility and Charismatic Leadership: A Boost or Bust for Leadership Outcomes in the Russian Context

The University of Northern Kuzbass Agglomeration: Campus as a Strategic Bet

The article presents the concept of university campus of Northern Kuzbass agglomeration, emerging in Kuzbass in the context of the region’s transition on the path of sustainable development. The work provides an overview of successful practices in universities’ achieving significant local impact in terms of effective organization of the campus space. The peculiarities of the Russian context of universities’ turning to regions are noted. A hypothesis is formulated about the reasonableness of the regional university betting on development of campus infrastructure, which is supposed to initiate and support new formats of activities and practices as well as internal institutional changes. On the example of creating a world-level campus in Kemerovo there are shown possible changes in the university model, which allow to solve regional problems of supporting agglomerative development. The paper might be of interest as a case study when designing campus infrastructure development in the regions of Russia.

Pengaruh leksika dan gramatika bahasa Rusia terhadap pembentukan karakter penuturnya

This study aimed to analyze the influence of Russian vocabulary and grammar on the formation of the personalities of its speakers. In the Russian context, vocabulary and grammar play an important role in establishing communication patterns and the cultural identity of its speakers. This study used the qualitative descriptive method. The data were classified based on cultural data and vocabulary contained in anecdotes, phraseologies, folklore, the pronominal use of vy ‘you' and ty 'you', the formation of atroponyms using suffixes, the use of exclamation marks, and the use of numbers. The results of this study show that stereotypes, phraseologies, folklore, vy ‘you' and ty 'you' pronouns, anthroponic suffixes, interjections, and the use of numbers can shape the character of speakers. All these elements affect how words, grammar, and sentence structure are used in Russian. In addition, it can affect the characteristics of the speaker, including attitudes, values, and thinking patterns. This research can provide a deeper understanding of how language plays an important role in shaping an individual's personality in a Russian linguistic context, as well as its implications for understanding the culture and identity of Russian-speaking peoples.

Going vertical: examining the rise and impact of contemporary Russian sports cinema.

While Hollywood has been central to the definition and popularisation of the genre internationally, sport cinema also has a significant presence in national cinemas across the world, though less research has been undertaken to date of the place of sport within European cinema and its growing importance in this context. This article will introduce a new database and online research platform (Sport in European Cinema, sportandfilm.eu) recently made publicly available which enables a deeper consideration of the significance of sport in European cinema, including its increasing importance in the Russian context. Indeed the third most commercially successful indigenous film ever released (as of 2023) at the Russian box office is a sports film, Движение вверх (Going Vertical (AKA Three Seconds) (2017). This article adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the place of sport in European cinema, including a case study of contemporary Russian sport cinema and its connection with broader political and ideological messaging. Sport cinema has become an increasingly important part of European cinema, both in terms of number of films produced and their impact on European society, as evident in the case study provided of Russian sport cinema. This paper introduces a new research database dedicated to European Sport Cinema and identifies the increasing importance of sport cinema in the European context. It includes a case study of contemporary Russian sport cinema and identifies its role in articulating and affirming existing power structures and ideological hegemony within Russian society, as evident within Going Vertical and further recent Russian sport films in a particularly challenging period of national and international instability and contestation.

Examination of the relationship between information and communication technology competencies and communication skills

This study aimed to explore the impact of different dimensions of communication skills, namely competence (COMP), self-esteem (SELF), social communication challenge (SCC), and listening-speaking (LI-S) on the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) for student support (SS) and instructional design (ID). This study implemented inferential statistical methods to explore the impact of different dimensions of communication skills on the utilization of ICT among pre-service teachers. A sample of 324 pre-service teachers from Kazan Federal University was examined, utilizing validated scales adapted to the Russian context, with data analyzed using structural equation modeling to identify complex relationships between variables and to ascertain potential differences according to gender and department. The results demonstrated a significant positive relationship between participants’ perceived COMP in communication skills and their information and communication technology competencies (ICTCs), both in SS and ID. This suggests the need for targeted training to enhance educators’ communication competencies for optimal ICT utilization. Conversely, SELF and LI-S communication skills did not significantly influence ICTCs, indicating that these elements do not necessarily result in more effective ICT use in educational contexts. However, handling SCCs was positively associated with ICTCs in ID but not for SS, indicating a nuanced relationship between different communication skills and areas of ICT utilization. The study findings provide implications for professional development programs and underline the importance of certain dimensions of communication skills in leveraging ICT in education. Further research is recommended to verify these findings across different populations and educational settings.

Adaptation of communication styles inventory to Russian context

Communication style refers to the distinct ways individuals exhibit verbal, paraverbal, and nonverbal communication patterns in social interactions. It involves receiving, interpreting, and delivering feedback and messages. Factors like culture and personality affect communication styles, and tools like communication styles inventory (CSI) help evaluate and improve individuals’ communication skills. Cultural differences significantly impact communication styles, so it’s important to adapt and validate measurement instruments for diverse cultural settings, such as adapting CSI for the Russian context. This study aims to adapt CSI for use in the Russian context. The research follows a quantitative approach, collecting data from 407 undergraduate and graduate students across different universities. CSI is a questionnaire assessing six distinct communication patterns with 96 items. The researchers conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to examine CSI’s validity and reliability in the Russian context. The analyses yielded an eight-factor model explaining 59.5% of the total variance. Although two factors from the original scale were preserved, other factors were newly named. The confirmatory factor analysis tested the relationship between the original sub-dimensions and the new dimensions, resulting in a better-adapted model with significant relationships between items and factors. The findings indicate the scale’s suitability for different cultures and sample groups, supporting its validity and reliability. Further research should adapt the scale to other cultures and utilize it in studies in the Russian context.

The Concept of the “Russkiy Mir”: History of the Concept and Ukraine

The concept of the Russkiy Mir (Russian world) has cultural and geopolitical implications. Since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the concept has started to play a significant role as a propaganda instrument and as a justifying tool for Russian military aggression in Ukraine. However, this was not always the case. It was not until 2007 that the Kremlin institutionalized the concept by creating a foundation called Russkiy Mir. Until this time, the concept was not widespread among the Russian elites. Later, Russian politicians articulated the Russkiy Mir differently and without its exact meaning. Three different understandings of the Russkiy Mir have emerged: a global sphere of the Russian language and/or Russian-speaking diaspora, the geopolitical sphere of influence of Russia, and an ideological sphere of the new conservative right-wing forces. By analyzing the idea’s roots in the Russian context using published sources, the article shows how the Russkiy Mir has developed from a nonpolitical and loose idea that should unite all Russian-speaking people around the globe to a geopolitical tool Russia uses to justify its influence in the post-Soviet space, particularly in Ukraine. Moreover, the article aims to answer the question of to what extent, from a Russian state view, Ukraine plays a role in this concept.

Medical code of ethics as an instrument of power and autonomy of the professional community

The article focuses on the activity of a doctor, considered from the standpoint of professional ethics. The practice of forming and controlling the implementation of the ethos of a doctor is shown as an instrument of power and autonomy of the professional community in the work space. The main sources of the study were texts codifying the ethics of the profession and implementing international medical standards in Russian context.

Types of city dwellers’attitudes towards service robots in the city of Perm

The effectiveness of robot implementation in various societal sectors depends not only on the robot’s technical characteristics but also on how different social groups perceive and interact with them. Social attitudes towards robots, in turn, are influenced by sociocultural and sociodemographic factors. In the context of the sociology of technology and actor-network theory, this research explores the social significance of technical devices, the processes of social adaptation, and communication with robots. However, empirical research on human-robot interaction (HRI), especially in the Russian context, remains limited. This article presents the results of a study that examines the perceptions of robots by actual and potential users in two aspects: the level of basic social attitudes towards new technologies and robots (social acceptability) and the evaluation of interactions with robots in specific situations (practical acceptability). The empirical basis of the study consists of survey data from customers at a multifunctional center providing state and municipal services in Perm. They received services from either a service anthropomorphic robot, Promobot V.4, or a human employee at the center. Using cluster analysis, three types (clusters) of attitudes towards innovations and robots were identified at the level of basic social attitudes: robo-skeptics, robo-phobes, and robo-philes. The social characteristics of these identified types were examined. The study introduces an original method for measuring satisfaction with actual interactions with service robots based on various parameters (evaluation of service convenience, communication quality, personal activity, willingness to recommend robot services, etc.). The study confirms the hypothesis of the connection between the type of attitude towards innovations and robots and the satisfaction with actual interactions with robots in specific situations. The lowest levels of satisfaction with robot interactions and the desire to avoid such interactions were observed among robo-phobes, who are more frequently represented by individuals of senior age group (age 55 and above). The research results allow determining the prospects for implementing service robots in the public space of a major Russian city based on understanding the social attitudes of users.

Online Course use in Academic Practice: an Examination of Factors from Technology Acceptance Research in the Russian Context

Online Course use in Academic Practice: an Examination of Factors from Technology Acceptance Research in the Russian Context

Evaluation of pre-service teachers’ digital skills and ICT competencies in context of the demands of the 21st century

21st century has seen the emergence of digital skills as a crucial ability with profound effects on employment, education, and social relationships, among other facets of life. The best talents to teach are the subject of study by those who establish educational policies. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between information and communication technology competency (ICTC) and digital abilities. It focuses on which of the digital skills sub-dimensions has a greater impact on ICTC and how this impact varies by country, age, and gender. This study employed a quantitative research design to evaluate the association between ICTC and various digital skills. The sample group consisted of 620 university students from Russia and Kazakhstan. Digital skills were measured using a scale adapted for the Russian context, while ICTC scale was first adapted for the Russian context following language validity steps. The study also conducted path analysis to determine the impact of ICTC on digital skill dimensions and multigroup path analysis to assess effects according to different independent variables. The study found that certain dimensions of digital skills, specifically “use of digital tools”, “communication of digital content”, and “creation of digital content”, significantly influence ICTC. However, “management of digital content”, “digital security”, and “digital empathy” dimensions did not show a significant effect. The impact of these dimensions varied significantly across different demographic groups, suggesting that digital skills and ICTC development may differ among these groups. The findings highlight the need for tailored strategies to develop and promote digital skills and ICTC, considering these demographic differences.

Educational Trajectories of First-Generation Students as a Case of Inequality in Higher Education

Today educational trajectories of First-Generation College Students (hereinafter referred to as FGS) can be considered as a key subject of international research on inequality. The study of FGS has both conceptual and practical implications: holding a consistently vulnerable position within the higher education institutions, FGS constitute a vivid case that illustrates the mechanisms of inequality reproduction, as well as demonstrates its multidimensional and rigid nature. While there is a well-developed tradition of research on this issue in the West, the FGS category has not yet received much attention in the Russian academic field, which leaves invisible many aspects of inequality within Russian education.
 This article is devoted to the review of international studies of First-Generation Students – people who were the first in their family to find themselves studying in higher education institutions. Two groups of sources are analyzed: empirical educational strategies of FGS, as well as theoretical works aimed at conceptualizing this category and explaining the vulnerability of its representatives in the education system. Two areas of empirical work on FGS could be distinguished: the first one is devoted to the study of educational choice and admission to universities, while the second one considers the process of studying at a university. The concepts of habitus and forms of capital by P. Bourdieu, the integration model by V. Tinto and the role theory by G.H. Mead are considered as the dominant theoretical directions of understanding FGS. The article concludes with the discussion of potential and limitations of studying FGS in the Russian context in terms of both specifics of national educational system and the stratification model of Russian society.

The Warmth of Death: Alexander Brodsky and the Necropolis in the Womb of the Metropolis

AbstractMoscow‐born artist and architect Alexander Brodsky's work is very much infused with its Russian context; its geography, landscape, climate and political regimes. For him, ‘penumbra is a permanent state of gaze’. Architect and researcher Susanna Pisciella looks at his continuous migration between architecture and art installation, and suggests that he also finds inspiration in the shadow of language.

The Kuranty in Context: Dutch Lading Lists and Their Russian Translations. Part 1

There is a great deal of recent scholarship exploring how foreign news reached early modern Russia and what its impact there was. Of particular importance is the study of the kuranty, the translations of Western newspapers and pamphlets. By examining closely what may seem to have been an unusual choice to translate from Dutch newspapers – the cargo lists of Dutch ships from the East Indies – this article suggests how it might be possible to contextualize the news translations more broadly than has been done to date. It is important to examine the significance of the news where it originally appeared, since its significance in the Russian context may be quite different. And it is also important not just to focus on the Russian government’s interest in the political news that informed its foreign policy. Over a period of decades, the importance given certain topics may have changed. The interests of the translators themselves – among them Andrei Vinius – may help to explain why they selected particular items for translation from the substantial quantity of foreign news which began to arrive in Moscow regularly upon the establishment of the foreign postal connection in 1665. The article is published in two parts, the first one here covering the background and the analysis of the evidence up through 1665. The second part, to appear in a subsequent number of the journal, will deal with the lading lists of 1667 and 1671 and the complex analysis of the context within which they may have been of particular interest in Moscow.

<i>Miraculous</i> in Russian Semantics of the 11<sup>th</sup>-18<sup>th</sup> Centuries: the Evolution of Socially Significant Distinctions

The phenomenon of the miraculous cannot be removed from human existence, no matter how much its presence contradicts the arguments of reason, legislation, or common sense. Its attractiveness for philosophical reflection has been evident since the ancient classics (4th century BC), when the very phenomenon of admiration was considered the root cause of knowledge by Plato and Aristotle. The miraculous turns out to be semantically interconnected with religious communication, understood as the observation of the unknown, inexpressible, inaccessible within the familiar (N. Luhmann), including its naming and classification. This study is devoted to identifying the basic sociocultural differences and their dynamics associated with the lexeme miracle in the Russian context of the 11th–18th centuries based on the analysis of written sources. Tracing the evolution of the semantics of the miraculous, identifying the criteria for assigning such a characteristic to a certain phenomenon and the value assessment of what was called a miracle, the following trends are revealed. On the one hand, it is a differentiation from religious communication, which distinguishes between true and false miracles depending on the origin (for example, the Christian God or the Magi, fortune tellers, sorcerers, etc.). On the other hand, there is an increase in the complexity of the phenomenon itself, acquiring by the end of the 18th century various communication features. These are true/false miracles in religion; legal/ illegal in the field of state regulation of public life (starting with the legislation of Peter the Great); miracle as superstition, deceit and quackery for selfish purposes, i.e. marginal communication, contrary to science, morality, law and the ideals of the Enlightenment as the worldview of the elites; as a historical and cultural phenomenon (in works related to the history, ethnography and folklore that are emerging in Russia); as an artistic mean (functional element) in literature.

Taming the time zone: National large-scale assessments as instruments of time in the Russian Federation

Nationwide large-scale assessments (NLSA)—an example of cross-border policy mobility—manifest a proliferating means of governing formal schooling. In the Russian context, NLSA takes the form of a compulsory graduation examination called the Unified State Examinations (USE). In this article, we explore how a mobile policy instrument of the NLSA participates in the relational processes of time- and space-making in a particular federated context of Russia, and how this process intertwines with and is shaped by the presence of multiple time zones. We argue that NLSA is an instrument of time that attempts to achieve centralization of the complex federated structure of the Russian Federation. Yet, the work of the NLSA is not a smooth process in a country characterized by territorial vastness, a complex federated structure, and the existence of multiple time zones. Guided by the theory of logistical power and sociological perspectives on time, as well as empirical insights, we show how the time zones need to be tamed in order for the NLSA to exercise its centralizing role. Discursively, the time zone is introduced and publicly discussed to symbolically characterize Russia and justify political actions or their outcomes. Bureaucratically, the desire for simultaneity and synchronicity takes the form of a meticulous ordering of a sequence of actions through prescriptive documentation that regulates the NLSA. Technologically, synchronicity, simultaneity, and instantaneousness rely on and engender an expanding national infrastructure that mediates social relations and the processes of conducting the NLSA, cutting across the time zones and federal units. Based on this analysis, we propose that scholarship on policy mobility and education policy sociology at large could benefit from examining the relationship between time and education policy and governance in four intertwined ways: the time of policy, context as time, policy instruments as instruments of time, and time in policy instruments.

Stakeholder-driven scenario analysis of ambitious decarbonisation of the Russian economy

Climate change mitigation entails different meanings for developed and developing countries. As a major emitting, high-income, developing economy that is largely dependant on hydrocarbons, Russia currently sits in the middle of the two groups, needing not only to drastically reduce emissions but also to ensure necessary economic growth to finance decarbonisation. This study explores two mitigation scenarios, one reflecting a cautious and the other a more ambitious decarbonisation pathway for Russia. These scenarios are co-created with a group of 135 national stakeholders, who inform the underlying assumptions based on their perceptions, expectations, and reservations: the more conservative scenario reflects the average of all input, while the ambitious scenario represents the optimistic end of the stakeholder input range. The two scenarios are modelled in CONTO, an input-output system of interconnected macro-structural calculations at the national level, to analyse the interplay between Russia's economy and decarbonisation progress, shedding light on the implications of mitigation for socioeconomic development. We find that, even for a country as dependant on hydrocarbons and under the most ambitious pathway that is still within experts’ realistic reach, Russia can achieve drastic reduction in absolute emissions and reach net-zero closely after 2050, while also achieving positive economic development in the long run. We highlight the need to prioritise a diverse set of mitigation options currently available and relevant to the Russian context, including energy efficiency and intensity improvements, electrification, and nuclear power, as well as to exploit the large potential lying within the Russian ecosystem's carbon sinks.