Research & Expertise news at HSE University

The concept of Satanism originating from Roman Catholic sources continues to lack a rigorous social science interpretation. Satanism is sometimes believed to be a reflection of real-life problems faced by society and is sometimes considered a phenomenon in its own right that merits serious study. HSE doctoral student Oxana Mikhailova provides an overview of how the concept of Satanism is treated by different sociological theories and offers her commentary.

A large-scale study carried out by Anita Poplavskaya, postgraduate student at the HSE Faculty of Social Sciences’ Department of Economic Sociology, on a sample of 5,000 undergraduates at eight regional universities in Russia reveals the students' prevalent work values. The top five include high pay, interest in one's work, job security, skills match, and career prospects. 

HSE University has announced the launch of a project competition in basic science research for intercampus departments of the university. The competition is aimed at supporting research as part of the HSE University Development Programme for the Period until 2030.

World Brain Day is observed on July 22 every year. The HSE News Service asked researchers of the HSE Centre for Cognition and Decision Making about the impact of neurological conditions on mental health, using cervical dystonia (CD) as an example. Ainur Ragimova, Research Fellow of the Centre, discusses current studies into cervical dystonia at HSE University and worldwide and explains how patients' quality of life can be improved by proper treatment.

The SNAD team, an international network of researchers including Matvey Kornilov, Associate Professor of the HSE University Faculty of Physics, has discovered 11 previously undetected space anomalies, seven of which are supernova candidates. The researchers analysed digital images of the Northern sky taken in 2018 using a k-D tree to detect anomalies through the ‘nearest neighbour’ method. Machine learning algorithms helped automate the search. The paper is published in New Astronomy.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 5% of the world's adults are affected by depression. Since treatment options are now available for all stages of depression, better awareness of its nature and causes could help in dealing with this disorder promptly and effectively. The following fact sheet from IQ.HSE summarizes several recent research findings on depression, including its contributing factors and manifestations in today's digital society.

The Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) quality assessment and journal selection working group has updated its list of journals based on the results of expert review and monitoring of the quality of publications. The expert review examined such criteria as the scientific level of the journal, its relevance, its consistency, the level of the scientists on its editorial board, the journal’s adherence to publishing and scientific ethics, and the quality of its formatting.

Tatiana Sysoeva and Svetlana Yaroshevskaya, researchers from the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education, have found out that mistakes in texts play only a minor role in people’s perceptions of the intelligence of the texts’ writers. The content, form of presentation, and other aspects are much more important. The results of the study are published in the latest issue of Psychology, an HSE journal.