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A significant amount of attention has been given to the predictors of academic achievement in higher education. However, the vast majority of articles have centred on entrance criteria and the learning approaches or personal habits of students. Investigations into how achievement depends on student efforts, being almost invariably based on subjective and unavoidably imprecise student self-evaluations, do not generally help the university determine how it can actually promote academic achievement. In this article, the authors construct models for the academic achievement of economics students in various subjects at their institution. These models include students' previous scores and objective information about their studies during the year, including marks for home assignments and tests; subjective information from the students is not used. The predictive power of these models is high, and the authors use them to formulate how the university can enhance academic achievement and improve the quality of studies: for example, improving student feedback; tailoring subjects to complement each other; determining the need for additional classes; identifying students who are in danger of failing; and giving instructors feedback on the efficacy of activities such as home assignments or the format of examination papers and marking. (Contains 1 figure.)

As the global economy becomes more integrated, incorporating international experiences into college curricula becomes increasingly desirable for American students and their counterparts abroad. This paper describes one model for creating an international, Web-based, distance-learning classroom that can be used as a guide for those who might wish to pursue similar endeavors. Our replicated experiences teaching a sociology course on social control, twice under slightly different conditions, provide the basis for identifying the conditions and practices that optimize the goals of providing a forum for international education and enhancing reading and writing skills. A content analysis of the online Student-Led Discussions provides evidence that cross-national knowledge and understanding can be enhanced in this learning environment. Enrolling students from the United States, Belarus, Russia, and Australia, our course demonstrates how instructors can create a successful virtual classroom that truly encircles the globe.

Orienteering problem (OP) is a routing problem, where the aim is to generate a path through set of nodes, which would maximize total score and would not exceed the budget. In this paper, we present an extension of classic OP—Orienteering Problem with Functional Profits (OPFP), where the score of a specific point depends on its characteristics, position in the route, and other points in the route. For solving OPFP, we developed an open-source framework for solving orienteering problems, which utilizes four core components of OP in its modular architecture. Fully-written in Go programming language our framework can be extended for solving different types of tasks with different algorithms; this was demonstrated by implementation of two popular algorithms for OP solving—Ant Colony Optimization and Recursive Greedy Algorithm. Computational efficiency of the framework was shown through solving four well-known OP types: classic Orienteering Problem (OP), Orienteering Problem with Compulsory Vertices (OPCV), Orienteering Problem with Time Windows (OPTW), and Time Dependent Orienteering Problem (TDOP) along with OPFP. Experiments were conducted on a large multi-source dataset for Saint Petersburg, Russia, containing data from Instagram, TripAdvisor, Foursquare and official touristic website. Our framework is able to construct touristic paths for different OP types within few seconds using dataset with thousands of points of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the origin, development and formation of the identity problem, traditions of exploring this phenomenon in philosophy, psychology and sociology. The basic social and psychological problems of the present-day youth identity evolvement are examined. The findings of empirical study of personal, professional and ethnic identity of 340 university students are presented. The substantial characteristics and the main stages of personal identity development are discussed. The students with different status of professional identity are described; the main types of ethnic identity are identified. The factorial analysis data provides convincing evidence that there are common factors encompassing characteristics of personal, professional and ethnical identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the process of (dis)legitimacy of artistic-sociological consciences in Russia during the early years of Stalinist rule, in order to recover the history of language studies and the context of production of Bakhtinian writings. The method that underlies the reflection undertaken is based on the theoretical-methodological assumptions of Bakhtin (2006 [1979]; 2010 [1920-24]), Medviédev (2016 [1928]) and Volóchinov (2017 [1929], 2013), among others, which present criticisms of the formalist model, prevailing in Stalinist Russia. Historical sources are also used (Deutscher, 2006; Fitzpatrick, 2017) to investigate the political-ideological context of the post-revolution of 1917. The relevance of this manuscript is realized in the contribution of a contemporary but not anachronistic look, which brings to light a critical reading about the construction of philosophical and ethical (aesthetic) approaches on artistic-sociological consciences in Russia. The results show that, despite the execrable situation to which the members of the Bakhtin Circle were subjected amid attempts to (un)artistic legitimacy by the Russian state, researchers and intellectuals resisted and proposed to (re)think the aesthetic object (literary) as conceived by Stalin, whose primary proposal was the unification of the Russian language. Thus, this is not only language movements for the implementation of a linguistic system conception, but also a sociohistorical-cultural reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Russian Linguistics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 1990, Simon Clarke inaugurated two decades of research of the former Soviet Union through an international collaboration with Russian sociologists that examined a society in the throes of transformation. Along with his colleague Peter Fairbrother, Simon developed a network of Russian researchers in the Institute of Comparative Labour Relations Research. Together they produced a corpus of work that meticulously analysed the impact of economic reform on workplaces and households and the response of workers and their organisations. This piece is an extended version of a published interview with Simon conducted by two of his former students, Sarah Ashwin and Valery Yakubovich. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevailing research on political protest—which use data on events in pluralist societies —stresses the importance of target characteristics and the distribution of social support as explanatory variables affecting protest outcomes. This paper questions the applicability of these findings for explaining protest outcomes in hegemonies. An analysis of 303 protest events in the USSR yields the conclusion that measures of the internal strength of protest groups are the most important determinants of the effectiveness of Soviet dissident groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Soziologie is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Propósitos y Representaciones is the property of Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stanovništvo is the property of Demographic Research Center of Institute of Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The essay proposes to carry out an overview of the main contributions that sociology, political sociology and political science have made to the study of the October Revolution of 1917, and its consequences on what the Soviet state will then be until its collapse in 1991. The panorama of social and political studies in this field is in fact quite varied. In addition to well-known works, such as the works of Milovan Djilas or James Burnham, research deserves to be known and appreciated which, despite having had less "fame", does not for this constitute works of lesser scientific value, such as, for give just two examples, the work of Waldemar Gurian or, in Italy, of Bruno Rizzi. As part of this review, we proceed to a discussion of the works dividing them according to the main perspectives with which they have faced the study of the Soviet Revolution and State. These perspectives can be divided as follows: a) the debate between juridical sciences and political sciences on the classification and definition of the Soviet regime; b) the role of bureaucracy in building the socialist state; c) the debate on totalitarianism and the Soviet case; d) the role of the elites in the October Revolution and in maintaining the regime achieved by it; e) mass society in twentieth-century Russia and the use of its characteristics by the revolutionary elite. The essay concludes by noting that a considerable part of the studies in question are still not translated from Russian or other Eastern European languages, and tries to answer the question about why totalitarianism, at least in the West, has found most of the scholars who have dealt with it, intent on analyzing mainly the Nazi case in Germany, and not the communist one in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Socioloski Pregled is the property of Srpsko Sociolosko Drustvo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abortion rates in Russia, particularly repeat abortions, are among the highest in the world, and abortion complications make a substantial contribution to the country's high maternal mortality rate. Russia also has a very high rate of hazardous alcohol use. However, the association between alcohol use and abortion in Russia remains unexplored. We investigated the longitudinal predictors of first and repeat abortion, focussing on women's alcohol use as a risk factor. Follow-up data from 2,623 women of reproductive age (16–44 years) was extracted from 14 waves of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), a nationally representative panel study covering the period 1994–2009. We used discrete time hazard models to estimate the probability of having a first and repeat abortion by social, demographic and health characteristics at the preceding study wave. Having a first abortion was associated with demographic factors such as age and parity, whereas repeat abortions were associated with low education and alcohol use. After adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic factors, the risk of having a repeat abortion increased significantly as women's drinking frequency increased (P<0.001), and binge drinking women were significantly more likely to have a repeat abortion than non-drinkers (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.62–3.20). This association was not accounted for by contraceptive use or a higher risk of pregnancy. Therefore the determinants of first and repeat abortion in Russia between 1994–2009 were different. Women who had repeat abortions were distinguished by their heavier and more frequent alcohol use. The mechanism for the association is not well understood but could be explained by unmeasured personality factors, such as risk taking, or social non-conformity increasing the risk of unplanned pregnancy. Heavy or frequent drinkers constitute a particularly high risk group for repeat abortion, who could be targeted in prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When war challenges civilian survival, what shapes the balance between normative and instrumental rationalities in survival practices? Increasing desperation and uncertainty can lead civilians to focus on their own material interests and to violate norms in the name of survival or gain-to the detriment of the war effort and of other civilians. Do norms, boundaries against transgressions, and considerations of collective interests and identities persist, and, if so, through what mechanisms? Using diaries and recollections from the 872-day Blockade of Leningrad (1941-1944)-an extreme case of wartime desperation-this article examines how three forms of cultural embeddedness shape variation in the strength of norms against calculative, instrumental rationality. Proximity and empathy with others, the structure of norms and analogies to legitimate instrumental practices, and reflexivity vis-à-vis war and others' response interact dialectically with the war context to shape variation in violating norms and rationalizing transgressions. Theft of food and cannibalism, which involve tactics of survival or gain that also risk the well-being of victims (theft) or violation of a powerful taboo (cannibalism), demonstrate the weakness of norms on the margins but their power when core norms or other real, visible individuals are threatened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the resurgence of interest in group threat theory for explaining negative interethnic relations, adequate empirical evidence on the causal ordering of perceived group threat and outgroup derogation is still missing. In the literature, three theoretical perspectives concerning this issue have been raised. The predominating view assumes that perceived group threat is a causal antecedent to outgroup derogation. Contrary to this perspective, a second theoretical model conceptualizes perceived group threat to be a consequence of prior levels of outgroup derogation. Alternatively, a third theoretical perspective suggests to consider the causal relations between perceived group threat and outgroup derogation to be reciprocal. In this article, we conduct a longitudinal test of these competing theoretical models drawing upon cross-national multiwave panel surveys from Germany and Russia. Using latent autoregressive cross-lagged models, we find that perceptions of threatened group interests are causally antecedent to German's dislike and negative behavioural intentions against foreigners as well as to Russian's ethnic distance towards minorities. The data provide no support for the two alternative models. Findings are discussed with regard to its meaning for group threat theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I consider the main problem areas within the academic project ``The 1990s: The Semantics of Russian Culture,'' undertaken by researchers, recent graduates, and the first post-graduates of the Moscow Institute for European Cultures. The areas include new figures on the public scene; new forms of communication; new institutions; current processes in culture and society. I examine the social and historical framework of the formation of culture studies as an academic discipline in contemporary Russia, the alternative perspectives and tasks of the sociology of culture in Russian today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]