The purpose of this article is to examine the process of emergence and views of foreign and Russian researchers on the problem of the processes of media convergence. Focuses on the sociological aspect of the phenomenon. Provided basic concepts, the trends and prospects in the study of media convergence as a modern phenomenon. Rethinking the concept of convergence began with the publications in which knowledge and technology have been named as key components of future economy, convergence has become a phenomenon to be reckoned with, which will soon become a defining concept in the context of globalization. Considering the media environment as a system consisting of means of communication, foreign sociologists have radically changed the view of modern media, of their possibilities, their degree of influence on the society. The impact of media convergence on the life of each person, his worth in society, his mind, the ways of communication, to the professional world, and to leisure is only a part of important research areas. In general, the history of the development of sociological views on the processes of media convergence adjusts to multicontextual in the study of media. Today should be studied in the aggregate of all modern scientific disciplines, in both theoretical and practical applied aspects. In the end, the author has compiled a table that presented the stages of development of sociological views on the processes of media convergence with a brief description of each of them. The main trends and promising sociological research relevant to the challenges of the present time.

The article is an overview of the first stage in the development of relative deprivation theories during the 1940–1970s: theories of reference group and revolution. The concepts of “relative deprivation” and “reference group” appeared in 1949 and 1942, respectively. Further specification of reference group concept statements by H. Hyman, R. Merton, W. Runciman, R. Williams contributed to the formulation of relative deprivation theory. The definition of the forms of reference objects (individual, collective, social category), types of comparisons, essence and functional types of reference groups (comparative, normative, identification, and audience) allowed to describe types of relative deprivation, its essence, content (cognitive and affective), and also it’s levels: individual and group. However, reference group theorists have also identified a lot of problematic issues requiring further scientific development. One such issue, problems of relative deprivation formation, is considered within the framework of the theories of revolution through the analysis of social changes. Within the theories of revolution of the 1960s–1970s two approaches of understanding the essence of relative deprivation have emerged: theories of frustrationaggression (T. Gurr, J. Davies, D. Lerner, I. and R. Feierabends) and status inconsistency (J. Urry, C. Johnson, E. Hoffer). Works of the adherents of the first approach have made it possible to expand the field of relative deprivation study, but also they have become the subject of wide criticism. Focusing on the reference group theory and problems of collective identity research J. Urry’s approach was better integrated into the tradition of relative deprivation studying.

The article outlines the transformation of types of religiosity in the conditions of modern Western society. An assessment of the religious situation in contemporary Western society at the end of the 20th century and some examples are given. Particular attention is paid to the crisis of secular regulation of religion in modern society. Paradoxically, the weakening of the regulatory capacity of religious institutions leads to a weakening of the secular state. Religion, displaced into the private sphere, undergoes significant transformations. The active expansion of neoliberal ideology through the leading actors of globalism has significantly changed the nature of the socialization of individuals, their relation to the world and the ability to communicate. As a result of the principles of freedom of conscience and religious pluralism enshrined in both constitutions and in public morals, the individual’s right to choose his religious beliefs is generally accepted, and therefore the human right to form a religious identity proves to be primary in relation to a religious tradition controlled by institutions. If earlier the younger generation accepted the experience of the older generations, partially modifying it, but on the whole following it and finding in it suitable models of behavior, today the main emphasis is given to individual experience, shared with others, and acceptance of personal responsibility. Even adherents of traditional confessions themselves bring to their religious practice elements of eastern religions and esotericism, but discard elements of their own traditions that they consider “out-ofdate” or “do not fit into the way of modern life”. The institutional crisis of the establishment of the truths of faith favors the increase in the number of belief systems of individual communities. In a changing religious situation, the state should seek a new model of interaction with religious organizations and groups. The material is provided useful for comparative studies of the religious situation in Russia and Western Europe.

The article is devoted to the analysis of actual tendencies of reproductive behavior, change of birth rate indicators, frequency of induced abortion and births’ loss for natural reasons. The significance of reducing reproductive losses, both by of reducing the number of induced abortions, and by improving women’s reproductive health is shown. The article contains dynamic statistical data on the indicators of reproductive behavior, comparisons are made with similar indicators of other countries, to clarify the characteristics of reproductive behavior of Russians. The data of sociological surveys conducted by leading research centers on the attitude of the population to various lines of reproductive behavior are also given. Based on the analysis of the survey data, it is shown that, despite declared disapproval of abortions, people in general are not ready to assume the financial responsibility for making such a decision. Based on the regression analysis of reproductive histories of 2935 women, who participated in a series of studies conducted under the chair of the Sociology of Family and Demography, the influence of previous reproductive behavior on the outcome of pregnancy was analyzed. It is shown, that in addition to known medical patterns, a number of behavioral and values’ system factors that increase the likelihood of a child’s birth can be identified. Regression analysis showed that the growth of reproductive attitudes not only leads to an increase in the likelihood of a child’s birth against artificial abortion, but also has a positive effect on reducing the probability of spontaneous abortion. The significant negative impact of the existing number of children on the likelihood of choosing a birth against induced abortion was shown. This result confirms spread of lowfertility norms and childbearing termination after the need in children and their specific number is satisfied.

The article examines the main trends and forecasts of Africa’s development. The global inequality is seen by the authors as a key factor threatening the continent today and the future. As it shows by the authors, the global inequality influences on the development of Africa differentlly: by social, economical, ecological, political aspects. The certain aspects and statistical characteristics of inequality such as poverty, resources’ deficit (food shortages and water crisis) are analyzed by the present study. Degradation of the environment is happening due to the irrational use of nature that becomes an inhibitory factor in development of the African continent. A comprehensive analysis of current and forecasted demographic indicators has been carried. Africa’s role in the future demographic processes has been characterized, considering that the continent is of the rising “demographic giants”. Migration processes from Africa to the European Union countries has been assessed, as well as the prospects of an increasing inflow of migrants from Africa to Russia. As a consequence of demographic influence together with the adverse environmental impact, the authors point to extremely low standard of living, social inequality, disordered urbanization. However, despite the fact that Africa in the early 21st century is associated with conflicts (interstate and civil wars, inter-ethnic clashes), uncontrolled migration, insurmountable poverty, environmental disasters, hunger, deadly diseases, drug production and export, the authors note that global interest in Africa and the economic community first of all significantly increases in the third millennium. It is concluded that there is a need for a balanced assessment of the main risks and benefits of Russian-African relations at the present stage. Future planning of Russian-African relations must to take into account both the tremendous natural resources and demographic potential of Africa together with the global challenges and threats it bears.

This article examines the issues of China’s migration policy. Particular attention is focused on the legal regulation of migration processes from 1949 to the present. Analysis of each stage of the development of China’s migration policy made it possible to identify key problems caused by the peculiarities of institutionalization and regulation of attracting and adapting immigrants, especially highly qualified specialists. Recommendations are given to improve the migration management policy in China.

The process of social manipulation of modern youth is the object of the study. Foreign intelligence services, international organizations and the media, supported by them as agents of the process of social manipulation of young people is the subject of the research. The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that in the conditions of the systemic crisis of the basic institutions and institutions of socialization of modern Russian society, there is an urgent need to develop effective mechanisms to counter the manipulative effects of various, not unambiguous subjects of social life. These subjects use young people as an object of manipulation, as well as testing of political, social and psychological technologies and experiments on them. In this context, the systematization of relevant scientific knowledge about the activities of foreign intelligence agencies, international organizations and the media, supported by them as important subjects of social manipulation, is an important task facing modern Russian society and science. The analysis of the activities of these agents of social manipulation confirmed the relevance, novelty and prospects of the development of this problem, as well as the urgent need to limit the influence of these actors on the political life of Russian society, as well as the younger generation of our country.

The article is devoted to one of the most urgent problems of the social life – to the identifying the risks of young people’s deviance. For modern Russian realities, the growth of deviant phenomena in a given social group is characteristic. This testifies to the shortcomings of the organization of preventive social control, which is not limited to the development of a policy on prevention, but is more dependent on professional practices and ideas about the risks of deviance in the discourses of various control agents. The article presents the main approaches to understanding risks, the importance of studying risks in everyday professional practices of control agents is examined. The main attention is paid to the presentation of the research results, the purpose of which was to identify the general and specific in the content of discourses of social control agents regarding the risks of deviance of youth. The discourses of the main agents of control – police, school, social service institutions (state and non-state) are considered. The author comes to the conclusion that in the police and teacher discourses, an institutional approach, involving the use of external control of behavior, is predominantly used. The discourse of social security institutions is closer to the modern concepts of riskand protective factors, based on the need to consider life situations of youth and the development of internal control. This article may be of interest to specialists working in the field of the sociology of youth, the sociology of the family, social work, as well as to representatives of all agents of preventive social control.

A hypothesis has been put forward that the existing basic characteristics of the executive authorities of region and the implementation by government officials of the apparatus regional administration of politically significant decisions contribute to raising the level of public confidence. Indicators of the quality of life of the population are based on a systemic development of the quality of provision of state and municipal services and a closer relationship with the overall dynamics of the perception of the state apparatus for the management of society. The modern state sets priorities for effective and effective development. These tasks actualize the tasks of conceptualizing analytical work in the field of assessing the effectiveness and effectiveness of public administration, which allows you to turn to the sociological institute of public opinion as an open and independent indicator of the state of quality of public administration. A high level of public confidence in the state increases the effectiveness of state policy, ultimately increasing the overall level of welfare of society. Public opinion can not only facilitate, complicate, and if possible, cancel reforms, but is also one of the most important indicators of how well the reforms are carried out. A high level of public confidence in the state management mechanism increases the effectiveness of state policy, ultimately increasing the overall level of welfare of society. Public opinion can not only facilitate, complicate, and if possible, cancel reforms, but is also one of the most important indicators of how well the reforms are carried out. In this case, mass trust is a certain form of embodiment of the hopes of the population of the region in improving the socio-political and social situation, improving the entire system of state and municipal government. The purpose of the study is to identify the potential of public confidence in the institutions of state power as an indicator of the effectiveness public administration, to identify trends in its growth, and to identify specific features of the established practices of regional governance.

The article is devoted to the influence of “e-government” on the effectiveness of political management. At the same time, by “electronic government” is meant the informatization of the activities of public authorities and local government, as well as the interaction of these bodies with society through electronic technologies. This article is an attempt to comprehend the mechanisms of influence of information and communication technologies on the political and administrative efficiency in the context of significant transformative potential of these technologies in politics. The presented study is based on a neoinstitutional methodology and comparative analysis that has made it possible to identify the institutional significance and links of “e-government”, the impact of existing formal and informal norms and rules for the implementation of e-government on the effectiveness of political governance, to assess the impact of the process of informatization of the state apparatus on quality of the functioning of government institutions. The problem of the effectiveness of political management is considered in the article from the point of view of achieving the objectives of subjects of management activity – political elites. Due to the fact that the main objectives of the subjects of political governance are, on the one hand, access to government resources and retention of power (overbearing aspect), on the other hand, the achievement of certain performance society development (social, economic and others indicator; administrative aspect), the influence of “e-government” on the effectiveness of political management is proposed to be assessed from the perspective of contributing to the achievement of these goals. The main conclusion of the study is that the impact of “e-government” on the effectiveness of political governance is complex and depends on the forms and directions of its implementation, as well as the quality of existing political institutions.

The work is devoted to the assessment of the perceived quality of life of the Russian people and its changes during the decade of the most prosperous economic development of Russia. The assessment of life quality and factors of its formation is intended to solve the fundamental and practical problems of social science. First of all, the assessment allows understanding the stage of development of the society and the characteristics of the achieved life quality in general and concerning its separate components; secondly, it helps understanding the influence of social system and state institutions over the conditions of life quality; thirdly, it shows the state of separate objective components of life quality; fourthly, it represents the way objective components of life quality determine the state of its subjective components – perceived quality of life and its components; finally, the state of the perceived life quality, its separate components and their influence over the state of social order in the society. The book covers the substantiation of the methodological and methodical approaches to the study of the perceived life quality of the population. Based on the results of empirical studies conducted in 2002, 2008 and 2012 according to a common methodology and method, the authors describe the changes in the state of the eight characteristics of the perceived life quality of the adult population of Russia which took place during the mentioned period: physical activity, the roles of physical and emotional problems in limitation of life activity, mental health, pain sense modality, general health, vitality, social activity and the contribution of the state of these parameters to the generalized index of life quality of the Russian population. The following factors of formation of the state of these characteristics were disclosed: gender, age, employment, average income per person in a family, education, marital status, place of residence. The authors define the influence of the state of the economy and economic situation in Russia in this period over the state of the perceived life quality.