Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya

Digital technologies have radically transformed social reality and created new challenges for theory and practice. This puts under question prevailing scientific ideas about both the possibilities of institutional regulation/coercion of human activities and the transformative potential of human agency. Based on the analysis of discussions in sociological theory and on the review of the latest developments in neigboring disciplines, we propose a conceptual model to describe the possibilities and limitations of human agency in the context of digital reality as a special type of structure. Our focus is on the «strong» agency that is, activities that significantly change social environment. We outline two major points of interest. On the one hand, it is a zone of “conditionally” free creative individual action utilizing the resources of the digital environment as a means to achieve the goals of creating new or transforming existing communities, modes of behavior, practices, etc. On the other hand, it is a zone of “hybrid” agency, that is, human activity, stimulated (at least partially) and supplemented by a targeted, customized system of institutional influence provided by artificial intelligence systems. In our opinion, it is in these areas that the main challenges lie for advancing sociology towards understanding the problem of human agency as a key factor in institutional change, driven to a large extent by the advances in digital technologies.

The presented article examines the significance of the Soviet experience of the Samara school of sociology of labor for contemporary studies of work motivation. An important aspect of analyzing the motivation of workers was studying their attitude towards work, job satisfaction, and the indicator of organizational inclusion. The article discusses social technologies for enhancing the productive activity of Soviet workers, such as the organization of technical creativity, socio-production information, professional advancement of workers, socialist competition, and brigade self-management. Special attention is given to the practical application of these technologies at AVTOVAZ (Togliatti) in the 1970s‑1980s and their positive impact on the economic and social indicators of this enterprise. The article emphasizes the possibility of adapting the existing methodology of the «motivational core» and the indicator of inclusion within contemporary studies of the attitude of industrial workers towards their work. It also highlights the prospect of the comprehensive application of social technologies to enhance productive activity.

В преддверии юбилея члена-корреспондента РАН Михаила Федоровича Черныша – замечательного ученого, преподавателя и научного руководителя – мы обсудили с ним вопросы, которые волнуют каждого социолога. Что происходит с социологической теорией в условиях, когда общество возвращается после эпохи глобализационных иллюзий, а социология оказывается не готова к этому возвращению? Какова роль академической науки в современном российском обществе, и как восстановить связь между социологическим знанием и процессами принятия решений? Почему методологическая подготовка находится в кризисе, и как преодолеть разрыв между теорией и эмпирическими исследованиями? Наконец, как воспитывать новые поколения социологов в условиях кадрового кризиса и низкой привлекательности академической карьеры? Эти и другие проблемы развития отечественной социологии стали предметом откровенного разговора о прошлом, настоящем и будущем дисциплины.

The paper examines the readiness of Russian society to live in an increasingly digitalized environment and to function in it in a safe and effective manner. Based on the concept of human potential (HP), the authors proposed an operational model to measure its digital component. It was tested on the data of a representative survey of the Russian population (N = 10,038). This study provides the first estimates of the development of the digital component of HP among Russians and their readiness for life in the ‘digital world’. The results obtained present a more comprehensive picture compared to studies that focus exclusively on access to digital technologies and/or digital literacy. They confirm that various segments of society exhibit differing degrees of adaptation to the realities of digitalization, and almost a fifth of it has no digital component of HP or it is developed at a fairy low level. This blocks their access to the benefits of digitalization that groups with a higher level of digital component of HP derive for themselves. The reasons of this variation include not only socio-demographic characteristics, many of which have long been the focus of social research, but also individuals’ attitudes towards new technologies, their digital skills, and their jobs’ characteristics.

In the article, the authors’ attention is focused on solving an urgent scientific problem of studying the dynamics of protest activity within the Southern Federal District. The quantitative dynamics of protest activity in the Southern Federal District as a whole by year for the period from 2015 to 2024 has been determined, the frequency and mass of protest actions, peaks and epicenters of socio-political tension have been identified. The periodization of protest activity in the south of Russia is presented, indicating destabilizing causes of discontent among the population of the Southern Federal District. Four stages of protest activity have been identified, in each of which foci of social tension have been identified. The first stage of protest activity was characterized by the dominance of socio-economic discontent with the formation of a political protest against violations of civil rights and restrictions on freedoms, with epicenters in the Volgograd and Rostov regions. The second period was characterized by an expansion of the protest agenda: environmental demands were added to economic demands, as well as increased politicization of protests in connection with elections and constitutional changes with epicenters in Sevastopol, Astrakhan region and the Republic of Kalmykia. In the third period, there was a shift in protest focus to healthcare and education due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as an increase in local protests related to environmental and infrastructural problems with the epicenter in the Republic of Kalmykia. The fourth stage of protest activity is associated with the intensification of political protests and the emergence of new triggers related to the consequences of its epicenters in Sevastopol and the Krasnodar region. In conclusion, the authors conclude that the analysis of protest activity in the Southern Federal District reflects all-Russian trends, identifying local problems typical of the Southern Federal District regions. Modern challenges (economic crises, pandemic, special military operation) exacerbate systemic problems, transferring them to public space in the form of street demonstrations.