HSE Scholars Take Part in Global Political Science Congress
In July, instructors and students from the HSE’s Faculty of Social Sciences took part in the 23rd World Congress of Political Science, which was held in Montreal by the International Political Science Association. Two collective projects by the HSE were presented on special panels.
Happy Customers Prepared to Pay More
The better a customer's mood, the less they are concerned about a product's price and quality and the more they are driven by attractive design, the reputation of the brand, and other people's opinions, according to a study by Olga Patosha, Associate Professor of the Department of Organisational Psychology, and Tatiana Varavina, Master of Psychology, published in the HSE's 'Psychology'.
Hostels Create A New Hospitality Culture
A hostel is not just a cheap hotel with shared facilities, but a specific business model supporting an emerging new culture in the tourism industry, one which mainly targets the 'creative class' and the members of modern urban subcultures, according to the recent report 'Hostels: A New Culture of Hospitality. St. Petersburg's Experience' by Senior Research Fellow of the HSE's Laboratory of Cultural Economics (St. Petersburg) Irina Borovskaya.
61%
was the average capacity utilization level at Russian manufacturing companies in July, the lowest number seen in three years.
Children Help Adults to Learn about Innovation
On July 18, the Global Innovation Index 2014 was presented in Sidney. HSE’s First Vice Rector Leonid Gokhberg and Research Fellow Valentina Polyakova at the Institute of Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) co-authored the research into levels of innovation development in different countries.
Work in their Field Helps Students Study Better
In many cases combining study and work not only doesn’t undermine a student’s achievements, it actually enhances them. The experience of working in the field you are studying at university helps better master a profession and doesn’t cause a time conflict, says Diana Yanbarisova, Junior Research Fellow at the HSE Institute of Education, in her article, published in the latest issue of the HSE’s journal Voprosy Obrazovania (Issues of Education).
73%
of homeopathic physicians say that Russians’ trust in this kind of medicine is growing. In addition, just a third of them feel an increase in respect from the professional community.
Homeopathy Still a Stepdaughter of Medicine
According to homeopaths, an increasing number of Russian patients trust their methods. Meanwhile, conventional medicine does not take homeopathy seriously, viewing it as 'supplementary therapy' at best and as quackery and an occult practice at worst, according to Radik Sadykov, Lecturer at the Faculty of Sociology of the HSE's Department of General Sociology.
Government Finances Innovative Research
The government in Russia has been the main customer for research and development (R&D) since 2009, while the real sector of the economy finances only a third of the total R&D costs of innovation-focused research companies, according to findings from a monitoring of innovation activity carried out by the HSE's ISSEK.
Happiness as an economic category
Renowned American sociologist and political scientist, Professor at the University of Michigan and head of the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research in St. Petersburg, Ronald Inglehart told the HSE news service about his research – the study of happiness.