Meditation Has Greater Benefits for Intrinsically Motivated People with High Self-Control
HSE University researchers Evgeny Osin and Irina Turilina conducted an intervention study looking into the effectiveness of a short-term online mindfulness meditation course. They discovered that even after a three-week course of daily 10 to 15-minute meditation sessions, novice participants benefitted from improved emotional wellbeing, concentration, motivation and self-reflection. The practitioners were also less likely to fixate on negative thoughts. However, these effects only applied to people who already had sufficiently high levels of self-control and motivation to meditate and were thus less likely to give up on the practice. The research is presented in an article published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
Master’s Degrees Lead to Better Employment Prospects and Higher Salaries
Master’s programmes are gaining popularity in Russia. The number of master’s graduates now stands at 185,000 — more than three times the 2013 figure. In 2020, one fifth of admissions to Russian universities were for master’s programmes.
Creative Industries in Russia
Russia has 3.5 million people in creative occupations and 2.7 million employed by creative industries. IQ.HSE used data by the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) to see how much these two figures overlap and how creative employment is different from creativity. Having assessed Moscow's creative economy, the experts have broadened their scope to Russia at large. The findings are published in the inaugural digest of the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre.
Research Shows That Creative Workers Are Motivated by Money and Social Guarantees More Than Artistry
Creators are also part of the job sector. Their work is increasingly oriented around commercial activities and in the pursuit of economic goals. As such, the organization of artists’ professional work and the motivations behind it are by no means unique. Rather, they straddle the line between ‘aesthetic’ and ‘market’ concerns.
Shrinking Vorkuta: Depopulation and Decline of Russian Arctic Cities
In Soviet times, relocation to northern monocities was seen as an attractive option, with high pay and good perks, along with a well-developed infrastructure, perceived as offsetting the harsh climate. The situation is different today, with some cities on the verge of vanishing into extinction. A prominent and rather striking example of this process is Vorkuta in the Komi Republic. A team of researchers from the HSE and Politecnico di Milano, having examined the progressive shrinkage of this once booming monocity, concluded that the case of Vorkuta could suggest effective approaches to managing urban depopulation in the Russian Arctic.
Scholars Gauged Energy Inequality among Eurasian Economic Union Member States
The UN member states pledged to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 that are aimed at saving the planet’s resources and increasing overall well-being. One — Goal 7 — sets out to “ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.”
CPD Training of Staff Boosts Self-confidence
There is a significant psychological effect of continuing professional development programmes, i.e. people feel more confident in solving problems. After training, employees note that they cope better with tasks both at work and home.
The Misadventures of Soviet Furniture
In the late 1950s, Soviet designers created something unprecedented in the Soviet Union — lightweight, modular furniture for the entire apartment. However, their progressive take on interior design clashed with reality. The system trumped common sense, with the result that the best entries in the first national competition for furniture designers remained little more than good intentions. HSE University Art and Design School instructor Artyom Dezhurko studied the history of the competition.
Online Platforms Force Russian Freelancers to Work Nights And Weekends
To get work in a highly competitive environment, freelancers adapt their own routines to the needs of their clients, so they have to work long hours not only during the day but also during non-standard hours, obeying the unwritten laws of online platforms.
Individuals Perceived As Highly Intelligent More Likely to Get Away with Sexism And Harassment
Regardless of personal ideas about gender equality, people tend to turn a blind eye to someone else’s sexist attitudes if they perceive this person as having positive and valuable characteristics such as high intelligence.