Semiotic management of communicative situations: New people(s) and old methods

How to explain the existence of totalitarian communities in the light of hegemonic ideologies that have been oftentimes, and also quite recently, condemned (Nazism, communism, Stalinism, religious radicalism)? How, in the globalizing world, do information islands emerge where people live in isolated semiotic realities? How is it possible to manipulate the masses, proceeding from denounced reasoning and policies? Why can people be subject to regimes typologically similar to those that destroyed their physical and semiotic past? These are issues the article approaches, trying to see logic in the management of semiotic realities through communicative situations, specifically as to how different types of objects in the latter are constructed. Metaneeds used in the construction of semiotic realities indicate the value-based structure of macrosignifieds as elementary units in culture cores. The use of macrosignifieds and skilful manipulation with metaneeds make it possible to create novel semiotic species in closed sociocultural systems that are based on unilateral semiotization of the surroundings and function by autocommunicative feedback loops. The examples given are derived from one of the most elaborate experiments in the creation of New Man and closed semiotic realities – from the territory of the former Soviet Union and the contemporary Putinized Russia.

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Political Trust and Historical Legacy: The Effect of Varieties of Socialism

East European Politics and Societies and Cultures ◽

10.1177/0888325409353334 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 206-228 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl ◽

Eszter Simon

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Young People ◽

Former Soviet Union ◽

Political Trust ◽

Eastern European ◽

Individual Level ◽

Level Data ◽

Different Types ◽

Short Run ◽

General Populations

This article, unlike the vast existing literature on political trust, focuses on trust in post-socialist countries and, more specifically, on trust of young people rather than on trust of general populations. Studying young people is important in the context of establishing democracy and the survival of democracy. The authors examine the continuous effect of socialism and stipulate that the legacy of the type of socialist regime is a major determinant of political trust in Central and Eastern European and former Soviet Union countries. Utilizing individual-level data from an institutional survey, the authors find that distinguishing between different types of socialism is instrumental in explaining political trust. Results on the former Yugoslavia, however, suggest that the effects of socialism might be temporarily overshadowed in the short run by drastic post-socialist events such as warfare. The findings have implications for policies aimed at fostering political trust in post-socialist countries and for discerning future patterns of political and social developments.

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The effect of different types of education on the likelihood of employment in 29 post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union

Higher Education Skills and Work-based Learning ◽

10.1108/heswbl-09-2018-0092 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 723-738

Author(s):

Nazim Habibov ◽

Alena Auchynnikova ◽

Rong Luo

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Soviet Union ◽

Vocational Education ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Former Soviet Union ◽

University Education ◽

Specific Level ◽

Content Type ◽

Different Types ◽

Communist Countries

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of a variety of levels of education, namely, high school, vocational and university education, on the probability of being employed in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Design/methodology/approach The data are from two waves of the Life-in-Transition Survey that covers 29 post-communist transitional countries. The number of binary logistic models is estimated to quantify the effects of different types of education on the likelihood of being employed, while controlling for different sets of covariates. Findings The findings reveal that the effect of employment associated with university education is higher than that of vocational education, which in turn is higher than that of high school education. However, the differences between the effects of the various levels of education are not considerable. Any specific level of education is always associated with a higher effect in Eastern Europe as compared to the former Soviet Union. The effect of education is also found to be higher for females than for males. In the former Soviet Union, the positive effect of university and vocational education on employment is found to go down with age. Originality/value This is the first study which compares effect of different types of education on probability of being employed on a diverse sample of 29 post-communist countries over the period of five years.

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Marital Stability Among Jewish and Mixed Couples Following Immigration to Israel From the Former Soviet Union

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000112 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 158-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Yoav Lavee ◽

Ludmila Krivosh

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Cultural Identity ◽

Social Adjustment ◽

Former Soviet Union ◽

Marital Stability ◽

Marital Instability ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Mixed Marriages ◽

Marital Outcomes ◽

Jewish Immigrants

This research aims to identify factors associated with marital instability among Jewish and mixed (Jewish and non-Jewish) couples following immigration from the former Soviet Union. Based on the Strangeness Theory and the Model of Acculturation, we predicted that non-Jewish immigrants would be less well adjusted personally and socially to Israeli society than Jewish immigrants and that endogamous Jewish couples would have better interpersonal congruence than mixed couples in terms of personal and social adjustment. The sample included 92 Jewish couples and 92 ethnically-mixed couples, of which 82 couples (40 Jewish, 42 mixed) divorced or separated after immigration and 102 couples (52 Jewish, 50 ethnically mixed) remained married. Significant differences were found between Jewish and non-Jewish immigrants in personal adjustment, and between endogamous and ethnically-mixed couples in the congruence between spouses in their personal and social adjustment. Marital instability was best explained by interpersonal disparity in cultural identity and in adjustment to life in Israel. The findings expand the knowledge on marital outcomes of immigration, in general, and immigration of mixed marriages, in particular.

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The Contribution of Pavlov's Typology of CNS Properties to Personality Research

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040.2.2.125 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 125-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Jan Strelau

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Former Soviet Union ◽

Animal Species ◽

Special Significance ◽

The West ◽

Personality Dimensions ◽

Personality Research ◽

Personality Theories ◽

Strength Of Excitation ◽

Point Of Departure

This paper presents Pavlov's contribution to the development of biological-oriented personality theories. Taking a short description of Pavlov's typology of central nervous system (CNS) properties as a point of departure, it shows how, and to what extent, this typology influenced further research in the former Soviet Union as well as in the West. Of special significance for the development of biologically oriented personality dimensions was the conditioned reflex paradigm introduced by Pavlov for studying individual differences in dogs. This paradigm was used by Russian psychologists in research on types of nervous systems conducted in different animal species as well as for assessing temperament in children and adults. Also, personality psychologists in the West, such as Eysenck, Spence, and Gray, incorporated the CR paradigm into their theories. Among the basic properties of excitation and inhibition on which Pavlov's typology was based, strength of excitation and the basic indicator of this property, protective inhibition, gained the highest popularity in arousaloriented personality theories. Many studies have been conducted in which the Pavlovian constructs of CNS properties have been related to different personality dimensions. In current research the behavioral expressions of the Pavlovian constructs of strength of excitation, strength of inhibition, and mobility of nervous processes as measured by the Pavlovian Temperament Survey (PTS) have been related to over a dozen of personality dimensions, mostly referring to temperament.

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Migration pattern and mortality of ethnic German migrants from the former Soviet Union

10.1055/s-0037-1605625 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

S Kaucher ◽

H Becher ◽

A Deckert ◽

V Winkler

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Former Soviet Union ◽

Migration Pattern

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Transmigration und Kapitalismus

PROKLA Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft ◽

10.32387/prokla.v35i140.592 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 35 (140) ◽

pp. 407-422

Author(s):

Julia Bernstein

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Former Soviet Union ◽

Different Sources

Based on an ethnographical study the article presents the problems of Soviet migrants with capitalistic every day life. The reaction of the migrants and the role of their imagination of capitalism, which was formed by different sources in the former Soviet Union, is investigated.

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