The article analyzes the different points of view on individual and social conditioning of the individual exposure to manipulative influences. The special attention paid to broad social context of modern transformations when the increasing stream of the information and the new forms of its giving which literally has fallen upon the person. In last decades it conducts to the “incoherence” of sensations, when the confidence and the fixed standards were replaced by uncertainty, incite to superficial perception of things, to sensation of the feeling immediacy of life and to negation of historical regularities. Authors assert that in such situation activity of the organizations and the separate persons which purpose is influence rendering on people, submission to their specific private interests is especially stirred up. The main element of the manipulative influence is the ability to impose their own solutions of urgent problems or engage in manipulation of networks of people who are predisposed to it. This article analyzes the concepts that explain susceptibility to manipulative influences of congenital mental qualities of the person; discusses the theory of “patterns”, launched by domestic explorer V.V. Krasikov. Authors allocate concrete socially-psychological mechanisms which allow people to be subjected to manipulative management, as well as the proven fact of socially conditioned cultivation conformal thinking in a certain social, economic and political circumstances.

 

The problem of identity has come to the fore of contemporary societies in the conditions when the institutional structures of these societies their ascriptive statuses have become looser when modernity is “liquid”, “soft”. Varions conceptualizations of identity are becoming a basic part of contemporary sociological theory. The paper aims to reveal the key problems that sociology faces when striving to work out a theory of identity. The paper takes as its starting point the classic notion of identity. This notion was shaped by Erik Erikson on the basis of his dynamic psychology. The paper proves that the contemporary identity is connected with the process of individualization in modern societies. Numerous and varied studies of contemporary identity can be divided into three large groups according to three methodological approaches: constructivist, postmodern and interactionist. The paper compares the major theories based on these approaches and reveals their theoretical and methodological problems. The paper shows that the constructivist approach is based on the notion of reflexivity which is viewed as a mechanism of identity formation by an individual. Identity is a reflexive project which is being realized in a conscious manner. The postmodern theories of identity reveal the fragmentation incompleteness of ego-identitity and it’s narcissic decay. They also reveal the inability of the individual to solve the problem of continuity and unity of her (his) own personality. Identity as a notion is replaced by the notion of identification which reduces identity to varions modes of repsentation. The interactionist methodology conld open up the way to tackle, the problem of individual’s unity and continuity as the main problem of human existence. This is the condition of the individual’s psychic and social health.

 

The network is an efficient way of social structure analysis for contemporary sociologists. It gives broad opportunities for detailed and fruitful research of different patterns of ties and social relations by quantitative analytical methods and visualization of network models. The network metaphor is used as the most representative tool for description of a new type of society. This new type is characterized by flexibility, decentralization and individualization. Network organizational form became the dominant form in modern societies. The network is also used as a mode of inquiry. Actually three theoretical network approaches in the Internet research case are the most relevant: social network analysis, “network society” theory and actor-network theory. Every theoretical approach has got its own notion of network. Their special methodological and theoretical features contribute to the Internet studies in different ways. The article represents a brief overview of these network approaches. This overview demonstrates the absence of a unified semantic space of the notion of “network” category. This fact, in turn, points out the need for detailed analysis of these approaches to reveal their theoretical and empirical possibilities in application to the Internet studies.

 

The biographical turn in social sciences of the 2000-s actualized a rich experience of the sociological application of this method. In Europe leaders in its development were the sociologists of two different directions: one is represented by Prue Chamberlayne and Tom Wengraf and another one by Fritz Schütze. In the USA Norman Denzin made the main contribution to the biographical studies. Biographical method reemerged within social sciences as an approach to study hard-to-reach, or hidden populations. So the author argues that the most socially isolated religious groups can be reached by the method of biographical narrative. The article contains a full description of those difficulties, which are often to the method in use and gives through out illustrations of them taken from the author’s study of religious Jews of Sankt-Petersburg. The author came to the conclusion that the sociologist has necessarily to consider in detail the dramaturgy of the interview meeting.

 

The article compares the approaches to the study of the contemporary stage of development of world civilization that were developed in the concepts of globalization and world-systems analysis. It is emphasized that the globalization studies and WSA are competing analytical perspectives. While the globalization studies consider the contemporary period of social development as a qualitatively new global stage in the history of humanity, the world-systems analysis argues that the essence of a new historical stage is the crisis of the modern global capitalist system and its transformation towards the new historical system. A comparison study of globalization and world-systems analysis demonstrates that the latter provides more clear picture of social reality. The world-system reinterpretation of the concept of globalizations is proposed.

 

The article is dedicated to one of the most pressing problems of our time — migration. Depopulation, population ageing, falling birth rate among the indigenous population creates conditions when migration becomes one of the most important sources of population growth in developed countries. Despite the fact that the problems depopulation can’t be solved only through migration, it is impossible to manage the situation without migrants, otherwise population will decline even more rapidly. The article analyzes particularities of migration in Russia, especially focusing on migration in Moscow. The main emphasis is made on the problems of interaction between migrants and the host community, or more precisely on the attitudes towards migrants among Muscovites. There is a high level of anti-immigrant and xenophobic attitudes among Moscow’s residents, which points to the necessity to overcome migrantophobia, promote tolerance, establish cultural dialogue between migrants and the indigenous population of the region. Negative consequences of xenophobia are analyzed, which pose a threat to Russian stability and security. A lot of attention is paid to such feature of contemporary migration as the increasing proportion of women among migrants — the feminization of migration, problems and prospects that follow it. In conclusions, the author relies on the existing statistical data, as well as the results of sociological research, conducted both on the national and regional levels.

 

The article analyzes the role of sociology in the scientific management of society — namely — the social construction aimed at the prevention of adverse events and the creation of social realities desirable for the individual and society. One of the areas of social reality, as well as the most important sphere of social life which are subject to social construction is public health. Public health is considered as an integrated expression of the dynamics of individual levels of the health of all members of society. The author emphasizes that the public health of the people is formed by the interaction of two groups of factors — endogenous (sex, biological age, race, body type, heredity and type of the human nervous system) and exogenous (natural and social) factors. The last are created by people themselves in the course of their ability to live and are operated, that is socially designed. The author analyzes the negative processes related to public health, the most important of which is a complex situation in the health system, lack of faith in the possibility of human medicine. An equally important role belongs to the deterioration of environmental significant share of people’s living conditions and social stress. If earlier scientists did not specify, in what degree of threat of infringement of global ecosystems are connected with a state of health and features of diseases of the population now it is established that various forms of irreversible change of environment are directly dangerous to public health. From an antiquity the effect of discrepancy of the wished (abstractly) and actually arising future wished (abstractly) — effect of human activity is known: people wish one, however actually all terminates differently, practically, on the contrary. And these characteristics of a public sincere, mental condition can be extremely inconsistent in relation to knowledge. They are the basis of so-called “involuntary behaviors”, remaining “thing in itself”, without understanding what it means for the future. One type of such conduct, as well as a serious social problem is the unhealthy lifestyle of modern man, speaking in turn, the most important factor in the development of numerous diseases. On the one hand, people, especially young ones, rarely think about the consequences of bad habits, excess or misuse of power, and physical inactivity. On the other hand, the company does very little to teach people health-saving technologies. The special problem is represented by interests of business of large and powerful corporations which advertise on TV, in newspapers and magazines, on the Internet, intensive consumption of medical products and unhealthy (artificial) food. In authors view, public health can be improved by ensuring a worthy place to identify and study the specific social problems associated with exogenous factors of public health. Even some progress towards Russians concerns such a social problem as a public health will allow to generate the new public consciousness reflecting real vital interests of the person and a society.

 

Political leadership is a concept central to understanding political processes and outcomes, yet its definition is elusive. The study of political leadership has a long history. Many disciplines have contributed to this study, including history, philosophy, political theory, psychology etc. Leadership is a process in which leaders and followers interact dynamically in a particular situation or context. Leaders must be able to connect with followers to understand their mood and their initiative. There are essential and operational differences between a leader and a manager. Managerial effectiveness is related to an emphasis on rationality and organizational structure. Leadership effectiveness is linked to symbols and culture. The interactive nature of leader-followers-situation can help us better understand the changing nature of the leaderfollower relationship and the increasingly greater complexity of situations leaders and followers face in contemporary world. Good leadership makes a difference, and it can be enhanced through greater awareness of the important factors influencing the leadership process. The changes we are facing in today’s world demand a new breed of political leaders, new forms and mechanisms of leader-follower interaction that provide effective leadership.

 

The article examines the nature and features of political governance as an adaptation mechanism of political systems. Basic administrative functions of the state establish borders of political governance. Functions of the state such as security, distribution of public goods, the legitimate use of violence and symbolization have been analyzed. The ability to perform these functions is essential to the existence of the state. The nature of political governance changes depending on how basic administrative functions of the state implement. Political governance involves not only the implementation of administrative functions of the state, but also feedback. Representation of feedback via quality analysis determines an adequate reproduction of the political system. In this context it is also important to note the need for a special type of motivation of civil servants. The basis of political governance as a professional activity is the priority of public interests rather than business logic. The effectiveness of political governance is determined by the sustainability of the value system of power and administration to moral and ethical principles of public service. Values of representatives of power and administration may differ ideologically, but the priority of public interests and development should remain common and constant.

 

The results of the cross-regional social study provide information on the relevant aspects of non-standard form of employment — freelance — obtained directly from participants involved in the social process. The authors demonstrate that the social community of freelancers differs from other communities in status, value and behavioral characteristics. At the same time, analysis of the behavioral models of freelancers shows internal differentiation of this group through different needs in material and social benefits, professional and social attitude and use of recreational, working and other social practices. Both skilled in-demand freelancers and workers with temporary freelance orders in addition to the main job coexist within the freelance community. Particular qualities of freelancers’ lifestyle reduce social wellbeing of the group and do not allow them to enter the segment of the regional middle class, keeping them in “reserve” or even on the periphery of the social structure. ”Growing points” for this group are proactivity, internal locus of control and focus on the use of their own resources for solving problems leading to citizens’ initiative development.

The article is based on dissertation papers of PhD and Ph.D. defended in the last decade on the subject of human resource management and employment in general. The article discusses the features of professional development in modern Russia. In view of the development of information technology the need to use knowledge management technologies as a basis for professional development of the individual is highlighted. In this regard, particular attention is paid to the development of the ICT sector personnel, and it is noted the importance of the impact of the transformation of the national education system in the development of personnel in Russia, in particular the transition to a competence-based approach. The article also highlights key factors of motivation of different categories of employees, current models of material and immaterial motivation, special attention is paid to the destructive model of motivation. In the conditions of transitive economy it is important to highlight the features of a new type of employment and the corresponding ways of organizing work in a globalized, postindustrial society. In this regard, special attention is paid to the mechanisms for effective management of employment in the social market economy. Moreover, there is a need of an active employment policy in Russia, resulting in the need to fill labor shortages in the country. One of the most effective ways to solve this problem is the labor migration.

 

This article analyzes the main subjects and contents of candidate and doctoral dissertations on sociology, which have been defended in dissertation council D 501.001.01 based on the Lomonosov Moscow State University starting from year 2005 until 2015. The subjects of the defended dissertations fully comply with the priority research areas of the Sociological faculty of MSU and is dedicated to solving modern sociological issues. While analyzing the subject and the content of the dissertations, a major priority was given to overview the scientific novelty, as a complex of new scientific results and provisions, which contain the solution to the actual issue, which is important for the future development of sociology, and which witness the author’s personal impact in this particular area. The doctoral dissertations are based on the analysis of social equality and it’s role in the consolidation of the modern Russian society, analysis of the genesis of social rights, sociocultural processes in organizations, and the socialization of young people in the transition society. The candidate’s dissertations (PhD) based on specialty 22.00.01, rely on a serious analysis of theoretical and methodological approaches of the classics of sociology, modern concepts of domestic and foreign authors. The candidate’s dissertations (PhD) on the specialty 22.00.04 are devoted to the study of related structures of society, transformation processes in the social structure, social stratification, the study of the new elements of the social structure, changes in social institutions. The candidate’s dissertations (PhD) on the specialty 22.00.06 explore the sociological problems of culture — its structure, social functions, forms, levels, cultural dynamics, tradition and innovation, global and local trends in the development of culture, cultural socialization of youth.