Publications

The ultimate source of inspiration for the present study is our ambition to offer a detailed description of the history of the Aramaic verbal system. A key event in this history is what Goldenberg used to call ‘the morphological revolution’, i.e. the shift, within Eastern Aramaic, from the Middle Aramaic2 verbal systems to those of Modern Aramaic. In the course of this shift, Eastern Aramaic gave up the inherited suffix conjugation3 (*qatala) and the prefix conjugation (*yaqtulu) and developed a new repertoire of verbal forms, all of whose bases were deverbal adjectives in earlier stages of Aramaic’s history.

Versions of the folktale Zêrka Zêra (in Kurdish)/Stērka Zerá (in Ṭuroyo) circulate throughout southeastern Anatolia. The story belongs to a widely-disseminated tale type, the ‘Bear’s Wife’, which concerns a young woman who is abducted by a bear (or other wilderness creature) and is forced to spawn and rear his children before escaping or being rescued. The following Ṭuroyo version was recorded during the 2018 winter field season of the Russian expedition to Ṭur Abdin in the village of Ḥaḥ/Anıtlı from a speaker of the dialect of Bequsyone. It represents the first scholarly publication not only of the Ṭuroyo version, but of any version of this folktale. In addition to the folktale and a translation, the study includes a glossary of the vocabulary used within the text, reflecting some Ṭuroyo words that have not been documented elsewhere. The paper also discusses the motifs of the Stērka Zerá folktale according to the standard classification scheme of folk motifs.

 

The present text may be compared with the audio recording available at https://iocs.hse.ru/en/sterkazera.

In the era of post-truth and healthcare 2.0, when lay experts have equal credibility as medical professionals and when the internet challenges the techniques of seeking and gaining health information, healthcare systems are in need of change. The key to the path of systemic changes lies in un-knowing not only the ways health issues have been communicated, but also the very process of the production of meanings of health. In Russia, neglecting the critical assessment of communication strategies in healthcare (or, as the direct translation suggests, health protection), might well result in the field looking like the famous croquet game in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Reconciling the strategies of each “hedgehog” and each “flamingo” through a careful consideration of constantly fluctuating goals might be a much-needed shift to co-creation in Russian health communication.

In this chapter we discuss the messy meaning-making strategies (and their interactions) which characterize Russian health communication today. We open our discussion by situating the game field that produces the meaning of health in contemporary Russia. In this opening, we introduce the key health communicators (pharmaceuticals, governmental or regulatory actors, the institutional medical sector, health professionals, and patient NGOs and communities) and how they share the field. We then introduce the Russian national strategy of patient-oriented health protection and the contradictory meanings that each sector of communicators attaches to it. We elaborate on the mismatch in communication of patient-oriented health protection, discussing successes and failures of health communication practices in different sectors. We analyze how the government, activists, institutions, business, and medical professionals communicate their meanings, the place of other communicators in campaign planning and execution, and how flexible and interactive the practices of each communicator sector are. We conclude with propositions on how the road towards patient-oriented health protection can be built in Russia.

In the era of post-truth and healthcare 2.0, when lay experts have equal credibility as medical professionals and when the internet challenges the techniques of seeking and gaining health information, healthcare systems are in need of change. The key to the path of systemic changes lies in un-knowing not only the ways health issues have been communicated, but also the very process of the production of meanings of health. In Russia, neglecting the critical assessment of communication strategies in healthcare (or, as the direct translation suggests, health protection), might well result in the field looking like the famous croquet game in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Reconciling the strategies of each “hedgehog” and each “flamingo” through a careful consideration of constantly fluctuating goals might be a much-needed shift to co-creation in Russian health communication.

In this chapter we discuss the messy meaning-making strategies (and their interactions) which characterize Russian health communication today. We open our discussion by situating the game field that produces the meaning of health in contemporary Russia. In this opening, we introduce the key health communicators (pharmaceuticals, governmental or regulatory actors, the institutional medical sector, health professionals, and patient NGOs and communities) and how they share the field. We then introduce the Russian national strategy of patient-oriented health protection and the contradictory meanings that each sector of communicators attaches to it. We elaborate on the mismatch in communication of patient-oriented health protection, discussing successes and failures of health communication practices in different sectors. We analyze how the government, activists, institutions, business, and medical professionals communicate their meanings, the place of other communicators in campaign planning and execution, and how flexible and interactive the practices of each communicator sector are. We conclude with propositions on how the road towards patient-oriented health protection can be built in Russia.

An innovative development based on the use of modern media and communication technologies requires a certain level of competence in how to use such technologies. These competencies are united by the concept of “information literacy”, proposed by Paul Gilster in 1997. The tradition of studying digital literacy in Russia is the subject of the following chapter. The different approaches to understanding digital literacy are as follows: ICT, psychological and pedagogical, media and information and industrial approaches.

Special attention is paid to the four-component digital literacy model, proposed in the framework of the project by ROCIT and the Higher School of Economics. This model is based on two substantial oppositions: firstly, the opposition “technical-technological/socio-humanitarian” and, secondly, the opposition “opportunities/threats”. It was used to construct the Index of Digital Literacy in the Russian Regions, measured since 2015.

The results of a series of media literacy measuring surveys by the ZIRCON Group from 2009–2016 are also presented.

The research is focused on the problem of the ambiguity in the perception of Russia in the British media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and based on the competing frames theory by J. Druckman. The content analysis of 751 articles about Russia from the British broadsheets and tabloids was conducted to highlight five frames: ‘Russia as the enemy of Great Britain,’ ‘Russia as the potential partner of Great Britain,’ ‘Russia as the unsafe state,’ ‘Russia as the worthy host of the World Cup,’ ‘Russia as a country with a rich culture.’ The results show that negative perception of Russia prevails in the British media field, especially in the broadsheets. Despite the slight positive dynamics during the World Cup, by the end of the games, the frequency of frames returns to pre-championship values. The research contributes to the development of competing frames theory and allows testing the frame strength criteria.

The lack of academic integrity combined with the prevalence of fraud and other forms of unethical behavior are problems that higher education faces in both developing and developed countries, at mass and elite universities, and at public and private institutions. While academic misconduct is not new, massification, internationalization, privatization, digitalization, and commercialization have placed ethical challenges higher on the agenda for many universities. Corruption in academia is particularly unfortunate, not only because the high social regard that universities have traditionally enjoyed, but also because students—young people in critical formative years—spend a significant amount of time in universities. How they experience corruption while enrolled might influence their later personal and professional behavior, the future of their country, and much more. Further, the corruption of the research enterprise is especially serious for the future of science. The contributors to Corruption in Higher Education: Global Challenges and Responses bring a range of perspectives to this critical topic.

The main goal of this research is to identify specific sociolinguistic patterns in Russian professional crisis communication discourse. This chapter addresses hybridity of Russian crisis communication professional rhetoric, primarily focusing on a combination of two types of discourses: black public relations defense and crisis communication. The study contains a qualitative pilot analysis of nonacademic expert texts on crisis communication. Critical discourse analysis applied to professional discourse provides insight into culture-related specifics of this field in Russia. The research is followed by two case descriptions of organizational crises to illustrate possible interference of black public relations defense discourse into crisis communication practice in Russia. The results provide practical implications for cross-cultural communication with Russian public relations professionals and set direction for future research in this field.

This paper explores how international trade flows contribute to democracy and shows that countries' trade partners define the nature of this relationship: higher volumes of trade with democracies are conducive to democracy, while higher trade levels with autocracies undermine it. Moreover, the effects of trade are uneven and are pronounced only for 49 states (34% of the sample). Results also indicate that trade with democracies does not sufficiently influence democratic transitions but rather helps already established democracies to endure. The "autocratic trade", on the opposite, undermines democratic survival, and it also reduces the probability of transition from partial democracies. Therefore, trade only partially supports democratic promotion when it is, indeed, a source of authoritarian promotion and consolidation. These findings are robust to accounting for autocorrelation, checking sensitivity of model specifications and acknowledging that democracy is measured with error. Finally, Instrumental Variable estimation, using predicted trade volumes from the Gravity Equation, shows that these effects are also causal.

The title of the book refers to the sociological survey, conducted by the "Public opinion" Fund in 2000. It is focused on the representation of Internet as a complex phenomenon in modern Russia. First, the Internet is considered as part of the media system that not only rapidly developing, but also significantly transforming the system as a whole. Second, it contains the analysis of main online markets in Russia. Thirdly, the Internet is analyzed in political, social and cultural contexts.

The article shows, which segments constitute social and political activity in online social networks in the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic (KChR) and the width of their representation. The author's technique allows to collect data on politically active groups of KChR. The segments of social and political activity of the Republic on the social networks are shown. Eight main clusters of political activity in social networks of KChR were obtained by the author's method of grain clustering. Each cluster was analyzed by social network analysis methods. The most influential persons and social movements are shown, and features of their network activity were investigated.

The paper analyzes speech markers and semantic concepts typical for patriotic and oppositional discourse in social networks. About 100 000 posts from Facebook, VKontakte, and LiveJournal were analyzed, and 35 000 most frequent speech markers were processed, of which 1800 markers were selected for analysis. The alternative method to tf-idf metric for specific text markers identification is proposed. The features of oppositional discourse in comparison with the patriotic discourse were formulated. On the one hand, the analysis of sets of speech markers that characterize political groups allows us to understand social models and attitudes embedded in the discourse and the subsequent behavior of representatives of these groups. On the other hand, it is possible to extend a set of keywords for text search of a certain political orientation, based on the obtained results.

Meeting global demand for growing the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce requires solutions for the shortage of qualified instructors. We propose and evaluate a model for scaling up affordable access to effective STEM education through national online education platforms. These platforms allow resource-constrained higher education institutions to adopt online courses produced by the country’s top universities and departments. A multisite randomized controlled trial tested this model with fully online and blended instruction modalities in Russia’s online education platform. We find that online and blended instruction produce similar student learning outcomes as traditional in-person instruction at substantially lower costs. Adopting this model at scale reduces faculty compensation costs that can fund increases in STEM enrollment.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the negotiation process between the official Madrid and the Catalan authorities aimed at the settlement of the autonomy selfdetermination issue at present stage. The main aim of this research is to determine the general lines of the conflict sides’ confrontation, as well as to identify features of the dialog, which caused communication failures, and to reveal the profound reasons that prevented from the finding a compromise solution. The central concept of the Catalans’ rhetoric is the realization of Catalonia’s right for the selfdetermination and the independence through the negotiations with the Spanish government and the EU leadership. On the contrary, the central concept of the Spanish government is the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, based on the Constitution. These opposite positions go from the different political motivation, as the real reason of this intercultural confrontation is deeper and lies in another sphere of social life, not in ethnic and cultural. The analysis of the negotiation process of 2017 reflects the struggle of the elites inside the country. It confirms that the key point of this struggle is not the desire to gain independence, for which Catalonia will hardly ever be ready, but to reach more and more economic preferences and to take a dominant position throughout the country.

The emergence of social media in the 2000s has transformed Russian information dissemination and social relations. Brisk Internet penetration has set new platforms for civic and political discussions and has provided additional channels for brand promotion. A growing body of research is devoted to both consequences. This chapter outlines strengths and challenges of extant social media research, identifying key themes and problem issues in given areas. In the beginning, we provide a brief historical overview of existing social media platforms, communication patterns, and users practices on social media. In the second section, we compare research agendas and current findings in applied social media inquiries and summarize social media’s effect on politics, business, and society. In conclusion, we set an agenda for further research, focusing particularly on the growing role of social media in contentious politics in Russia.

Social media and Russia society

This article presents the results of a cross-institutional survey on PhD students’ supervision at Russian universities. It is aimed at answering three questions concerning (1) styles of PhD supervision and their prevalence, (2) the relation between supervision style and PhD students’ satisfaction with their supervisor, and (3) the relation between supervision style and PhD students’ expected time-to-degree. We propose the empirically driven categorization of six supervision styles: superhero, hands-off supervisor, research practice mediator, dialogue partner, mentor, and research advisor. The most problematic category, characterized by providing no help for PhD students, was named “hands-off supervisors.” For this category PhD students reported the lowest level of satisfaction, and the highest expected time-to degree. Nonetheless, the large share of PhD students who are satisfied with hands-off supervisors may evidence a presence of a disengagement compact between PhD students and supervisors in Russian universities. Two categories of supervisors characterized by the highest level of PhD students’ satisfaction and shortest expected time-to-degree were named “superheroes” and “mentors.” These supervisors are reported to perform managerial and expert functions, which emphasizes the critical importance of these functions.

History of Communication as a field and discipline in Russia is often viewed as the development of different communications domains. This chapter considers the evolution of public relations education as one of the branches of communication in post-Soviet Russia. The chapter raises the question how the legacy of the Soviet Union and the inclusion of Russia in the global context shape the current state of public relations industry and education. Due to Soviet ideological patterns and the country’s social-cultural and economical evolution, institutionalization of post-Soviet public relations seems to support the logic of “path dependence”. The history of Russian public relations education and research is predominantly driven by the influence of the United States and some European countries. Greater convergence with the latter being partly determined by the similarity in the value systems of these countries and the fact that Russia has been a country-participant of the Bologna Process. Therefore, both historical legacy and global context have had an impact on institutionalization of public relations as an academic field in post-Soviet Russia. Today, the identity of Russian public relations school is most clearly manifested in the establishment of an integrated degree program combining Advertising and Public Relations. The Russian degree’s eclectic nature, public relations industry needs, and historical context are a promising foundation for development of Integrated Communications.

Studies have shown that learners’ motivation is a significant predictor of the level of engagement in a MOOC. However, the role of motivation in a MOOC’s completion remains questionable. In our study, we estimated the role of motivation in a MOOC’s completion, controlling for the characteristics of participants and their level of engagement with the course materials. The research database includes the survey and trace data on participants of nine MOOCs related to the economic field, launched on Coursera in 2014–2015. Two research models were created: the first model for all MOOCs’ participants; the second model for university-affiliated participants. The results of the logistic regression showed that learners’ motivation has a significant relationship with a MOOC’s completion. However, not all motives for participation in MOOCs are significantly related to the chances of earning a certificate of completion. Intrinsic motivation, a motive for getting skills that could be useful for changing the workplace, and a motive for earning a certificate significantly increase the chances of a MOOC’s completion. In turn, amotivation has a negative relationship with a MOOC’s completion.