Год после вспышки COVID-19: восприятие потенциальными студентами качества высшего образования в контексте цифровизации и смешанного обучения

Introduction. The forced transition of Russian universities to distance learning in 2020 and accelerated digital transformation of educational processes in higher education are the first effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A key aspect of measuring higher education quality is the perception of its formats by students as university change agents. The aim of the study is to identify the factors that determine the applicants’ positive attitude to learning that includes online elements in the context of the Russian universities’ transition to the blended learning model. Materials and Methods. The empirical base of the research includes the results of an online sociological survey conducted among the applicants for Ural Federal University undergraduate and graduate programmes in 2021. The methods of classification, factor analysis, and coefficients of pair correlations were applied. Additionally, for comparison, data from 2015 for a similar sample (1st year bachelor’s degree students) were used. Results. Positive attitudes towards online and blended learning are gradually increasing. The factor analysis of data from 2021 showed that applicants who support the online and blended learning include: those aspiring for master’s degree upon completing their bachelor’s degree course; those who choose their degree field rationally – men who apply for a state-funded education in any Russian university (including participants of federal contests – ‘Academic Olympics’). The above groups are formed mainly under the influence of external factors. Another group includes those oriented towards self-realization – women who choose their degree field relying on their personal inclinations for a future profession (the influence of internal factors). Discussion and Conclusion. The research results contribute to the development of scientific ideas about the blended learning model and emphasize the value of institutional research based on feedback from university students for making informed management decisions on change. The materials of the paper will be useful when designing the educational process in the Russian universities’ transition to the blended learning model. © 2021 National Research Ogarev Mordovia State University. All rights reserved.Funding: The work was supported by Act211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract No. 02.A03.21.0006

Optimization of Students' Graduation by the University Taking into Account the Needs of the Labor Market

The development of the socio-economic system and the labor market is directly related to the training of young specialists in higher education institutions in accordance with the needs of developing regions. To optimize the functioning of the labor market, it is necessary to compensate for the shortage of highly qualified personnel depending on the areas of training and determine the structural proportions of the optimal number of graduates, based on the share of employed and unemployed in various sectors of the economy. The University meets the needs of regional labor markets with a significant proportion of young highly qualified specialists. To optimize the educational process, it is necessary to analyze and model the impact of educational paths of graduates on the labor market by determining the equilibrium unemployment in the labor market. The proposed approach combines a model for maximizing the expected salary of students with a modification of the search and matching model. At the first level of model construction, we apply an econometric model that allows us to adapt educational paths to the interests of students. At the second level, we describe the behavior of students, choosing an educational path. At the third level, the structure of graduates adapts to the requirements of the labor market. The research perspective is the introduction of feedback mechanisms from graduates of regional Universities using surveys for a comprehensive assessment of the quality of graduate programs of the University with administrative data on the educational paths of graduates. © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The reported study was funded by RFBR according to the research project No 18-311-00175

Университетский и региональный ландшафт российской аспирантуры, финансовые траектории обучающихся

Ведущую роль в обеспечении устойчивого социально-экономического развития страны и активного наращивания человеческого капитала путем непрерывного воспроизводства передового знания в форме исследований и разработок для промышленности играет подготовка нового поколения аспирантов. Актуальными являются исследовательские вопросы: в широком контексте — какова динамика развития российской аспирантуры в регионах и, в частности, — насколько благополучны аспиранты, чтобы успешно реализовывать свои образовательные траектории (трудоустроены ли, имеют ли в этом потребность) и какова специфика образовательной мобильности с целью получения высшей квалификации. Научный интерес представляет изучение развития аспирантуры с учетом распределения ресурсов (финансовых, интеллектуальных) по регионам, а также их концентрации в вузах, способных на генерацию прорывных идей, технологий в российской науке. Они выступают центрами притяжения проактивной молодежи в регион. Для обработки информации применены методы вторичного анализа данных, сопоставления, классификации, инфографики. Проанализированы базы мониторинга эффективности вузов РФ 2014–2020 гг., результаты социологических исследований аспирантов 2017–2020 гг. ведущего российского вуза. Предложена карта концентрации аспирантов в отдельных регионах с учетом численности и притока / оттока. Центрами притяжения аспирантов, помимо столичных регионов (их доля в общей численности — 47,9 %), являются Республика Татарстан (3,2 %), Томская область (2,4 %), Свердловская область (2,1 %), где расположены ведущие российские вузы. В топ 7 регионов входят Белгородская (доля аспирантов — 2,7 %) и Ростовская области (2,4 %) с сильными научно-исследовательским и федеральным университетами. Даже в регионах, привлекающих большое количество обучающихся, наблюдается их недофинансирование в процессе обучения (85 % совмещают работу и обучение), растет отток в зарубежные вузы. Результаты могут быть использованы для совершенствования принципов развития аспирантуры и механизмов поддержки аспирантов в ведущих и иных региональных вузах с целью устойчивого развития территорий

Университетский и региональный ландшафт российской аспирантуры, финансовые траектории обучающихся

Ведущую роль в обеспечении устойчивого социально-экономического развития страны и активного наращивания человеческого капитала путем непрерывного воспроизводства передового знания в форме исследований и разработок для промышленности играет подготовка нового поколения аспирантов. Актуальными являются исследовательские вопросы: в широком контексте — какова динамика развития российской аспирантуры в регионах и, в частности, — насколько благополучны аспиранты, чтобы успешно реализовывать свои образовательные траектории (трудоустроены ли, имеют ли в этом потребность) и какова специфика образовательной мобильности с целью получения высшей квалификации. Научный интерес представляет изучение развития аспирантуры с учетом распределения ресурсов (финансовых, интеллектуальных) по регионам, а также их концентрации в вузах, способных на генерацию прорывных идей, технологий в российской науке. Они выступают центрами притяжения проактивной молодежи в регион. Для обработки информации применены методы вторичного анализа данных, сопоставления, классификации, инфографики. Проанализированы базы мониторинга эффективности вузов РФ 2014–2020 гг., результаты социологических исследований аспирантов 2017–2020 гг. ведущего российского вуза. Предложена карта концентрации аспирантов в отдельных регионах с учетом численности и притока / оттока. Центрами притяжения аспирантов, помимо столичных регионов (их доля в общей численности — 47,9 %), являются Республика Татарстан (3,2 %), Томская область (2,4 %), Свердловская область (2,1 %), где расположены ведущие российские вузы. В топ 7 регионов входят Белгородская (доля аспирантов — 2,7 %) и Ростовская области (2,4 %) с сильными научно-исследовательским и федеральным университетами. Даже в регионах, привлекающих большое количество обучающихся, наблюдается их недофинансирование в процессе обучения (85 % совмещают работу и обучение), растет отток в зарубежные вузы. Результаты могут быть использованы для совершенствования принципов развития аспирантуры и механизмов поддержки аспирантов в ведущих и иных региональных вузах с целью устойчивого развития территорий

Differentiation of universities by the level of teaching staff income: Correlation with the quality of education and research productivity

A significant indicator for assessing the Russian universities' performance is the ratio of teaching staff income to the regional average. The study allows obtaining an objective picture of the diversity of Russian higher education institutions that determines the principles of their further cooperation and concentration of human resources (teachers, students) in those universities where salaries are above the regional average. The research problem is to identify the factors of differentiation of universities' differentiation that have a decisive effect on their type, taking into account the level of teaching staff income and the orientation of universities (focus on educational or research activity). The authors analyze the cases of 769 universities included in the 2017 database for monitoring the Russian Federation universities' performance. To process the obtained data, the methods of factor analysis, classification, and single-factor analysis of variance were used. A comparative analysis of university cases showed that 74% of universities teaching staff members are financially successful, and in 26% - unsuccessful. The universities that focus on research (factor significance = 0.696) and scientific (factor significance = 0.642) developments are both “smart” and “rich”. The institutions that focus on education can be “rich” in modern realities if they have a significant capacity in terms of publishing activity (factor significance = 0.322) without imposing strict requirements on participation in research for all teaching staff members. The results of the study have practical implications for improving the educational and research ecosystem benchmarks at the level of individual regions based on balancing university management tools taking into account their strengths (education, research), which will allow choosing strategies to enhance the economic growth of specific universities and to increase the human potential of the region as a whole. © 2019 LLC Ecological Help. All rights reserved

Dynamic Modeling of Professional Mobility in the Context of Labor Market Precarization

The pandemic has become a catalyst for the inevitable process of digitalization of communications, significantly changing the organization and technology of professional activity around the world. There has been a radical change in labor market trends due to the digital transformation of the economy, changes in the unemployment rate, the transition of professional groups to the remote work format due to the external need for isolation to minimize the spread of Covid-19. The uncertainty of the labor market development conditions, as well as changes in the unemployment rate among the young subset of employable population, cause the emergence of various forms of unstable employment. The presence of high social risks, the need to develop mechanisms to increase the level of protection of the population, ensuring the growth of youth welfare and the formation of an energy saving policy aimed, inter alia, at the innovative development of the labor economy, determine the relevance of developing a set of models for predicting precarization of the labor market. To describe the dynamics of the labor market development, we constructed a model for assessing the risks for young professionals from key sectors of the economy who enter the precariat during the pandemic. Based on the provisions of the theory of positional games and behavioral economics, we have developed a multifactorial dynamic model for predicting professional mobility and precarization of the labor market, considering the fulfillment of Nash equilibrium conditions. The model allows you to track and predict the professional mobility of qualified youth depending on the intensity of the labor market, wage levels and the degree of digital maturity of companies in the region. Copyright © 2022 The Authors

Immune pleiotropic effect of telmisartan in arterial hypertension

Arterial hypertension (AH) is among the life-threatening diseases and requires permanent antihypertensive therapy, including telmisartan. However, the effect of telmisartan upon systemic interleukin profile in elderly hypertensive patients requires further study, due to the limited data on previously analyzed interleukins. The aim of our study was to evaluate the immune pleiotropic effect of telmisartan upon miultiple pro- and anti-inflammatory blood interleukins in the patients with hypertension. The study included examination of 74 patients aged 60-74 years suffering from hypertension treated with telmisartan (80 mg/day in the morning time). The immune response to telmisartan assessed by the blood contents of different interleukins was evaluated following 6 months of treatment. These markers were determined by flow cytometry using “Becton Dickinson FACS Canto 2” device (USA). The pleiotropic immune effect of telmisartan upon the interleukin profile in hypertensive patients aged 60-74 was established by statistically significant changes in multiple pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory interleukins. Following 6 months of telmisartan therapy, the patients with arterial hypertension have shown a statistically significant decrease in blood cytokines, i.e., IL-1 в was reduced to 8.1±0.6 pg/ml vs initial 10.5±0.8 pg/ml; IL-2, to 8.6±0.8 pg/ml vs initial 11.8±1.1 pg/ml; IL-6, to 18.4±0.5 pg/ml vs initial 21.2±0.7 pg/ml; IL-8, to 3.5±0.6 pg/ml vs 5.4±0.5 pg/ml. We have also revealed a statistically significant decrease of blood TNFα levels to 5.3±0.5 pg/ml versus initial 6.8±0.4 pg/ml in the elderly patients with hypertension after 6 months of antihypertensive therapy with telmisartan. Moreover, the levels of pro-inflammatory systemic interleukins and, especially, IL-4 showed an increase from 4.6±0.5 pg/ml to 7.0±0.6 pg/ml in the course of telmisartan therapy in these patients. In summary, one may suggest that telmisartan exerts a significant immune pleiotropic effect in the patients with hypertension, confirmed by the systemic changes of interleukin contents. The pleiotropic effects of telmisartan have been established in patients with arterial hypertension, expressed as a significant decrease in IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, TNFα levels, along with increased IL-4 and IL-10 contents. The results obtained showed a significant pleiotropic effect of telmisartan in the patients with arterial hypertension upon several interleukins, thus expanding the role of immune inflammation in this disorder, as well as its reversal with telmisartan therapy

Infiornativity lacrimal fluid interleukins in diagnostics and development of angle-closure glaucoma in elderly subjects

An increased percentage of the elderly subjects in pattern of contemporary society, along with other causes and risk factors, is accompanied by rise in the incidence of glaucoma. By 2020, according to international studies it is expected that prevalence of glaucoma patients in the world would increase up to 80 million subjects. Among the elderly, glaucoma is a common pathology, which development is associated with local disturbances in interleukin profile. However, the features of the latter in patients with primary closed-angle glaucoma in the elderly were poorly examined. Studies of local interleukin status were conducted mainly in patients with suspected or initial manifestations of primary open-angle glaucoma. The features of lacrimal fluid interleukin shift in a target group of elderly patients suffering from stage II primary closed-angle glaucoma virtually gained no attention. In addition, a limited range of local interleukins in patients with such pathology in previous studies was examined. In addition, informativity of lacrimal fluid interleukins in elderly glaucoma patients was not assessed too based on objective methods. The aim of the current study was to outline features and informativity of local interleukin profile indicators in 58 elderly patients with primary closed-angle glaucoma stage II, aged 60—74 years (main group) and 27 age-matched elderly subjects lacking such pathology. The level of interleukins in the lacrimal fluid was determined with the enzyme immunoassay “Multiscan” analyzer (Finland) by using sandwich ELISA (R&D Diagnostic Inc., USA). Informativity of measuring various interleukins was calculated according to the generally accepted formula. It was found that local interleukin profile in elderly patients with primary closed-angle glaucoma was mainly featured with increased amount of IL-2, IL-17, IL-8, but decreased IL-10. Hence, such local interleukins displayed peak informativity. The data obtained should be used in the diagnostics and treatment of such pathology, as well as of applied importance to unveil novel mechanisms behind development, diagnostics and corroboration for selective immuno-tropic therapy of primary closed-angle glaucoma

University and Regional Landscape of Doctoral Studies in Russia: Financial Trajectories of Graduate Students

Ведущую роль в обеспечении устойчивого социально-экономического развития страны и активного наращивания человеческого капитала путем непрерывного воспроизводства передового знания в форме исследований и разработок для промышленности играет подготовка нового поколения аспирантов. Актуальными являются исследовательские вопросы: в широком контексте - какова динамика развития российской аспирантуры в регионах и, в частности, - насколько благополучны аспиранты, чтобы успешно реализовывать свои образовательные траектории (трудоустроены ли, имеют ли в этом потребность) и какова специфика образовательной мобильности с целью получения высшей квалификации. Научный интерес представляет изучение развития аспирантуры с учетом распределения ресурсов (финансовых, интеллектуальных) по регионам, а также их концентрации в вузах, способных на генерацию прорывных идей, технологий в российской науке. Они выступают центрами притяжения проактивной молодежи в регион. Для обработки информации применены методы вторичного анализа данных, сопоставления, классификации, инфографики. Проанализированы базы мониторинга эффективности вузов РФ 2014-2020 гг., результаты социологических исследований аспирантов 2017-2020 гг. ведущего российского вуза. Предложена карта концентрации аспирантов в отдельных регионах с учетом численности и притока / оттока. Центрами притяжения аспирантов, помимо столичных регионов (их доля в общей численности - 47,9 %), являются Республика Татарстан (3,2 %), Томская область (2,4 %), Свердловская область (2,1 %), где расположены ведущие российские вузы. В топ 7 регионов входят Белгородская (доля аспирантов - 2,7 %) и Ростовская области (2,4 %) с сильными научно-исследовательским и федеральным университетами. Даже в регионах, привлекающих большое количество обучающихся, наблюдается их недофинансирование в процессе обучения (85 % совмещают работу и обучение), растет отток в зарубежные вузы. Результаты могут быть использованы для совершенствования принципов развития аспирантуры и механизмов поддержки аспирантов в ведущих и иных региональных вузах с целью устойчивого развития территорий.Training of a new generation of graduate students plays a key role in ensuring a country’s sustainable socio-economic development and active enhancement of human capital by continuous reproduction of cutting-edge knowledge in the form of research and development (R&D) for industry. In this context, it becomes important to examine the development dynamics of doctoral studies in Russian regions, as well as the graduate students’ financial well-being affecting their educational mobility and general opportunities to receive education (in particular, necessity of employment). The development of doctoral studies is analysed taking into account the distribution of resources (financial, intellectual) by regions and universities. The study also considers the concentration of resources in Russian universities capable of generating breakthrough ideas and technologies, which can be seen as centres of attraction for proactive youth. The methods of secondary data analysis, comparison, classification, and infographics were applied to process information. Such data as the monitoring of the effectiveness of Russian universities in 2014-2020 and sociological surveys of graduate students of a leading Russian university for 2017-2020 were analysed. As a result, the study presents a map showing the concentration of graduate students in certain regions, which takes into consideration their number, inflow and outflow. In addition to the capital regions (their share is 47.9 %), the Republic of Tatarstan (3.2 %), Tomsk oblast (2.4 %) and Sverdlovsk oblast (2.1 %), where leading Russian universities are located, were revealed to be the centres for attraction of graduate students. The top 7 regions also include Belgorod (the share of graduate students is 2.7 %) and Rostov oblasts (2.4 %) characterised by the presence of strong research and federal universities. However, due to the lack of funding (85 % of graduate students have to combine work and studies), the outflow to foreign universities is increasing even in the regions that attract a large number of scholars. The obtained findings can be used to improve the mechanisms for supporting graduate students in order to contribute to sustainable development of regions.Исследование выполнено при финансовой поддержке Министерства науки и высшего образования Российской Федерации в рамках Программы развития Уральского федерального университета имени первого Президента России Б. Н. Ельцина в соответствии с программой стратегического академического лидерства «Приоритет-2030».The article has been prepared with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation within the framework of the development program of the Ural Federal University as part of the strategic academic leadership program «Priority 2030»

Precarisation of labour as a growing form of employment of young specialists in the context of the Сovid-19 pandemic

Пандемия стала катализатором неизбежного процесса цифровизации коммуникаций, стремительно изменив организацию и технологии реализации профессиональной деятельности миллионов сотрудников по всему миру. Рост безработицы, перевод всех возможных профессиональных групп на дистанционную работу, обусловленные внешней необходимостью в изоляции для минимизации распространения в 2020 году Covid-19, ведут к радикальному изменению рынка труда. Поиск ответов на новые вызовы дерегуляции трудовых отношений возможен путем изучения процессов прекаризации на рынке труда. Научный интерес представляет изучение участия в этих процессах молодежи, которая восприимчива к социальным инновациям и обладает высокими компетенциями в информационных технологиях. Исследование профессиональных траекторий выпускников вузов, трудоустроенных в Уральском регионе и за его пределами, позволяет выявить, могут ли быть успешны формы прекарной занятости на рынке труда, каковы характеристики вовлеченных в эти формы социальных групп. Авторы используют мониторинг выпускников вуза 2017-2019 гг., проведенный на основе опросных и административных данных. Для обработки информации использованы методы классификации, экспертных оценок. Анализ показал, что 34,4 % выпускников вуза относятся к прекариату, из них лишь 8,8 % - безработные. Молодые специалисты, занятые в форме фриланса и в сфере IT-технологий, успешно трудоустроены, имеют высокие показатели трудоустройства по специальности, заработной плате, удовлетворенности работой. Результаты применимы для балансировки неустойчивой занятости и использования ее лучших практик, накопленных фрилансерами и специалистами в сфере IT-технологий, как социального инструмента регулирования трудовых отношений в сложной эпидемиологической ситуации.The Сovid-19 pandemic has catalysed the inevitable digitalisation of communications and rapidly changed the organisation and technologies of professional activities of millions of employees worldwide. The growth of unemployment, the transition of professional groups to remote work (wherever possible) due to the need for isolation to minimise the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 led to radical changes in the labour market. Studying the processes of precariation can facilitate the search for responses to new challenges related to deregulation of labour relations. We are interested in examining the participation of youth in these processes. Young population is receptive to social innovation and has excellent competencies in the field of information technology. An analysis of professional trajectories of university graduates (employed in the Ural region and beyond) helps identify whether precarious employment in the labour market can be successful, and determine the characteristics of social groups involved. We used the monitoring of university graduates conducted in 2017-2019 based on survey and administrative data. To process the data, we applied the methods of classification and expert evaluations. The analysis showed that 34.4 % of university graduates belong to the precariat, with only 8.8 % being unemployed. Young freelancers and IT-professionals are successfully employed, satisfied with their jobs and high salaries, demonstrating high rates of employment in their specialty. The results can be applied for balancing precarious work; its best practices, accumulated by freelancers and IT-professionals, can be used as a social tool for regulating labour relations in an unfavourable epidemiological situation.Исследование поддержано программой 211 Правительства Российской Федерации, контракт № 02.A03.21.0006.The article has been prepared with the support of the Act 211 of the Government of the Russian Federation, the contract No. 02.A03.21.0006