More reliable than a metal detector and safer than X-rays, a Terahertz scanner designed by HSE MIEM researchers allows the detection of items hidden under clothing, such as drugs and explosives, imperceptibly, without walk-through scanners and at a considerable distance. A highly sensitive THz receiver is capable of detecting waves emitted by the human body.

Asia is turning from a ‘global factory’ into a colossal consumer of goods and services, and this could lead to radical changes in the world economy, Junior Research Fellow in the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEIS), Anastasia Likhacheva, said in the paper ‘A New Model of Development in the Asian Region: Continent of Consumption’ presented at HSE’s XVI April International Academic Conference.

Most Russian companies on the Forbes 500 list have programmes in place for managing young talent, so that they are able to develop their own managers to take leading positions within the company in the future, according to Veronica Kabalina, professor of the HSE Faculty of Management, and Maral Muratbekova-Touron (Paris) and Marion Festing (Berlin), researchers at the ESCP Europe. The findings of their study 'Young Talent Management Programs in Russian Companies and MNCs' were presented at the HSE's XVI April Conference.

Emigration from Russia has changed significantly over the last decade. The potential for ethnic repatriation has almost been exhausted, but other factors have become stronger in the population outflow, such as reunion with families and trips for education. Such emigration is largely determined by differences in the quality of life and policies in host countries, which welcome young, educated, qualified people with a certain level of income, said Mikhail Denisenko, Deputy Director of the HSE Institute of Demography, in his presentation at the XVI April International Academic Conference at HSE.

Research shows that a third of all drug users in the U.S. actively avoid contracting HIV or hepatitis c. This has more to do with the drug addicts’ efforts than with luck. They are able to steer clear of frightening diagnoses thanks to social roles, solid financial strategies, and their painful experience of losing loved ones to AIDS. Russian drug users, on the other hand, are less careful as concerns the risk of infection, according to research conducted by Peter Meylakhs, Senior Research Fellow with HSE St. Petersburg’s Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, and presented at HSE’s XVI April International Academic Conference.

Values such as religious beliefs impact attitudes towards euthanasia. The more people value independence and autonomy, the higher their approval is of euthanasia. Conversely, conformism and an adherence to traditions are negatively linked to attitudes towards euthanasia, Maxim Rudnev and Alexandra Savelkaeva, researchers at the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Studies in Mass Consciousness, said at HSE’s XVI April International Academic Conference.

Maternity capital has supported numerous families in regions across the country, helping people solve their housing problems. At the same time, many people have not accessed these funds, as the programme is quite limited. Maternity capital is not very useful when buying an apartment in the city, as it does not go very far, and two other options for using it – towards children’s education or the mother’s pension – are longer-term issues, noted Elena Gorina, Senior Research Fellow at the HSE’s Institute for Social Development Studies / Center for Studies of Income and Living Standards, during the XVI April International Academic Conference at HSE.

Russia’s current demographic dynamics seem to be positive. Life expectancy is growing, and the population is growing, not only by means of migration from other post-Soviet countries, but also by natural increase, even if it is not big yet. At the same time, researchers assess the near demographic future with moderate optimism, which is mostly due to the forming age structure of the population, said Anatoly Vishnevsky, Director of the HSE Institute of Demography, in his report.

Economic inequality between the Russian regions will manifest itself clearly in the context of the current crisis. While the 2009 crisis passed almost painlessly for regional budgets, the situation today is quite different. The regions will be forced to look for anti-crisis strategies in the context of continuously decreasing oil revenues, said Natalia Zubarevich, Leading Research Fellow at the HSE Centre for Studies of Income and Living Standards, in her presentation on ‘Crises in Russia: Regional Perspective’ as part of the XVI HSE April International Academic Conference.

The broader the ethnic diversity, the greater the level of tolerance to people from other cultures. Multiculturalism has a positive effect on societal development in Russian regions. This is evidenced by research into the relationship between heterogeneity and socio-psychological capital of personality, that was carried out by Leading Research Fellow at the International Scientific-Educational Laboratory for Socio-Cultural Research Alexander Tatarko. The report was presented at the XVI April International Academic Conference.

The number of bankruptcies in the real economy is growing rapidly. Companies at risk include car manufacturers, agriculture, and metallurgy. Companies are being forced to leave markets due to decreasing demand and unbearable borrowing costs, said Anastasia Mogilat at the XVI HSE April International Academic Conference.

Social policy challenges and losses; Russians are not Europeans; Why parents in Moscow hate the USE; Defence attorneys' strategies in dealing with law enforcement agencies; Migrants in Moscow: myths and reality; Why switching to 'effective contracts' for school teachers does not work—these were among the most interesting papers from the HSE's XV April Conference, according to Opec.ru.