Global experience. Рубрика в журнале - Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast
Sino-Russian cooperation in the arctic: current situation, new directions and challenges
Статья научная
Russia's chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2021 to 2023 provides new opportunities for China and Russia to deepen Arctic cooperation, especially on the issue of “sustainable development”. Therefore, further research on Sino-Russian Arctic sustainable cooperation is of positive significance for deepening Arctic cooperation between Russia and China. In particular, it is necessary to re-examine the new directions of Sino-Russian Arctic cooperation in the context of today's drastic changes in the international geopolitical situation. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current situation, new directions and challenges of Sino-Russian Arctic sustainable cooperation and to provide concrete paths for deepening cooperation. To achieve this goal, the article analyzes the national policies of China and Russia, identifies the common interests of both countries, and then analyzes the current situation, new directions and problems faced by the Arctic sustainable cooperation between the two countries in the context of the reality of the Russian Arctic region. The innovation of this article is to provide a new path for deepening Arctic cooperation between the two countries based on the perspective of Chinese scholars and a more comprehensive understanding of China's Arctic policy. The significance of this article is that the research content and conclusions can be used to promote the process of Arctic sustainable development cooperation between the two countries at the social and even national levels.
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Статья научная
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 60-80 million couples worldwide struggle with infertility - inability to conceive a child without medical assistance. Infertility is a relevant medical, social, socio-psychological, and demographic problem that negatively affects the demographic situation across the world. In this regard, assisted reproductive technologies help. Infertility diagnosis and treatment is a lengthy and burdensome process, and patients need socio-psychological support while going through it. The purpose of the study is to analyze the situation with the treatment of infertile couples using assisted reproductive technologies in the Republic of Poland and the Russian Federation in the context of the perception of socio-psychological support provided to couples (case study of the Polish research). We used sociological methods: in particular, the author’s own questionnaire and R. Schwarzer and U. Schulz’s test psychological methodology for assessing a respondent’s subjective perception of socio-psychological support. The study involved 39 couples treated for infertility. The majority of respondents (27 couples; 69%) were married. Most female (32 women; 82%) and male (31 men; 79%) respondents did not have children. The results showed that women need more support than men: women received more statistically significant points on the “support-seeking” scale. According to the study, support of a family and a partner were assessed highly. It was revealed that social and psychological support during infertility leads to a positive effect that provides acceptance of the disease (infertility) and reduces stress and a feeling of a loss. Moreover, social and psychological support has a significant impact on the prevention of mental disorders among people treated for infertility. We conclude that socio-psychological support is important for patients diagnosed with this problem.
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Social policy of active aging in Russia and European welfare states: comparative analysis
Статья научная
Population aging is a global process that characterizes both European countries and Russia. One proportionate response to the challenges of global aging is to create conditions that maximize autonomy and activity, as well as social support for older people and the opportunity to be active. The purpose of the work is to analyze the features of social policy in the field of active aging in the European welfare countries and the Russian Federation. The study highlights key trends and differences between Russian and European social policies, and identifies the main features of understanding active aging in Europe and Russia. The analysis is based on the experience of European countries, which occupy the leading positions in the world quality of life ranking for the elderly, where special attention is paid to elderly citizens and the features of their aging and activity. These countries have been implementing a variety of mechanisms in the field of active aging for many years. The article reveals the features of implementation of such a policy and provides a critical review of the strengths and weaknesses of active aging policies in European welfare states and Russia.
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Статья научная
Digitalization of all spheres of life, technological, demographic, social, and other development drivers of the world contribute to the growing scale and depth of platform employment spread. Emergence of digital platforms was a major challenge for organizing and structuring the labor market. Platforms change not only existing business-paradigms, but the employment model. Platform employment in fact becomes a new institutional mechanism on the labor market. We used general scientific methods in the research: system analysis, comparison, description, generalization, systematization, formalization, and special methods - source analysis, SWOT-analysis, expert evaluation method, etc. The purpose of the research is to select and study socio-demographic features of platform workers in Russia and in the world, to compare them and reveal impact of these features on quality and stability of employment among platform workers. The article analyzes, systematizes, and sums up the results of recent European and American studies on socio-demographic features of platform workers. We attempt to assess similar characteristics among Russian workers (freelancers) analyzing sociological surveys and interviews. The author reveals primary signs of this employment type and their impact on quality of workers’ labor, compare the features of Russian and foreign platform workers, and conclude that pros and cons of platform workers are unevenly distributed, and experience of platform workers is polarized. It creates real problems for some workers and provides opportunities for others. Moreover, we designate risks of platform employment, which is a consequence of its instability, and propose areas for further studies.
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The belt and road: achievements and prospects (to the tenth anniversary of the initiative)
Статья научная
September 7, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative in Astana (Kazakhstan), and October 3, 2013 the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in Indonesia. The year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of The Belt and Road Initiative, which has received positive feedback from many countries and international organizations. The Belt and Road strategy corresponds to the course of historical development and meets the expectations of all parties. The international community pays considerable attention to it. As of January 2023, China has signed more than 200 documents on cooperation with 151 countries and 32 international organizations. In ten years, The Belt and Road Initiative achieved fruitful results and brought tangible benefits to the population of the countries located along the route. Currently, cooperation within the framework of The Belt and Road project is facing the turbulence of the external environment, but its possibilities have not been exhausted. For citation: Lyu Hongying, Wang Chao (2023). The Belt and Road: Achievements and prospects (to the tenth anniversary of the Initiative). Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast, 16(5), 279-293. DOI: 10.15838/esc.2023.5.89.16 In the future, it will contribute to the development of international cooperation in more areas and at a deeper level, achieving mutual benefit. The article summarizes the achievements and experience of the construction of The Belt and Road for ten years, analyzes the problems and difficulties that have arisen, and also considers new opportunities and challenges in promoting high-quality development within the framework of The Belt and Road Initiative.
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Статья научная
The qualitative changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic at all levels of the organization of the world community (individual, group, national, global) have actually formed a new social reality. Moreover, this process was of a force majeure nature; it took place in the conditions of a sharp increase in the uncertainty feeling, changes in the lifestyle of almost every person and every particular family, the unpreparedness of world medicine for an adequate response to the global epidemiological challenge, as well as the inevitability of large-scale problems in the economy and politics. The current conditions have become a challenge for the existing systems of public administration. The governments of different countries had to act quickly and decisively in order, on the one hand, to keep the development of the epidemiological situation under control, and on the other hand, to prevent a sharp deterioration of social stability against the background of objectively emerging epidemiological, social and psychological challenges. While the world medicine was urgently accelerating the development of a vaccine against coronavirus infection, the scientific and political community discussed the general strategy for implementing quarantine restrictions. However, against this background, the local community level remained virtually behind the scenes, which, nevertheless, was and still remains the most practical in terms of interaction of population with the authorities. It is at the local level (meaning the regional level, as well as the level of local selfgovernment) that the authorities are more close to the society problems, have the opportunity to interact face-to-face with its representatives, and the population, in turn, can actually participate in activities to improve living conditions (including solving problems caused by the pandemic). The article presents the experience of Russia and China in organizing interaction and evaluating the activities of local authorities by the population. Both countries have shown high efficiency in overcoming the crisis in 2020-2021, so their experience is of considerable interest, primarily in practical terms. The authors of the study have concluded about the importance of public assessment regarding the effectiveness of the activities of local authorities, as well as the prospects for actively involving citizens in solving problems arising against the background of force majeure.
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Статья научная
Breaking out of a demographic trap is a priority of national policy in Russia. To achieve this goal, the national project “Demography” was adopted. The purpose of our study is to review current trends in European family policy in the case of Germany and to identify opportunities for applying foreign experience in improving the provision of institutional support to family policy in the Russian Federation. In our work, we use methods of institutional and statistical analysis. Unlike the studies of other authors, our own assessment of the effectiveness and sufficiency of expensive measures being developed in Russia is based on an institutional analysis that we conduct so as to reveal trends in European family policy on the example of Germany, which is characterized by an institutional logic of family policy similar to Russia. Family policy in Germany is based on increasing public spending on the creation of a developed system of social infrastructure. Both countries focus on increasing the birth rate and the development of social infrastructure that allows women not to abandon their career; but it is assumed that for Russia, the relevant implications will be more significant. As a result of accelerated construction of kindergartens in major agglomerations of Germany, an increase in the birth rate is demonstrated. However, this effect is mostly caused by the migration wave of 2015, while immigrants are insensitive to the measures being implemented. In addition, this leads to an outflow of population from other regions. The significance of the article lies in the fact that the consideration of the contradictions between various courses of family policy in Germany over the past 20 years has revealed the possibilities of using foreign experience in improving the institutional support of family policy in Russia. Based on the analysis we carried out, and taking into consideration the experience of Germany, we propose recommendations in the field of socioeconomic policy that can specify the parameters of the national project “Demography” in terms of taking into account regional demographic situation.
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