Humans and Their Digital Footprints: Fantasy Becomes Reality
Social media posts, mailout subscriptions, registrations, reviews, shopping orders, etc—all of these are information footprints left behind by internet users. Timur Khusyainov, Senior Lecturer at the School of Social Sciences, HSE Campus in Nizhny Novgorod, spoke at conferences in Minsk and Novosibirsk about his study of digital footprints and how they can be used to improve the quality of life. Dr Khusyainov shared the results of his research with the HSE News Service.
Machine Learning Helping to Save Money at CERN
Researchers at HSE’s Laboratory of Methods for Big Data Analysis (LAMBDA) and the Yandex School of Data Analysis have significantly reduced the cost of CERN’s future SHiP detector. The detector will search for particles responsible for still unexplained phenomena in the Universe. With use of modern machine learning methods, LAMBDA and Yandex scientists came up with very effective configuration of magnets which protect the detector from background particles. As a result, the cost of the entire structure was reduced by 25%.
Imitation Drives Innovation
Creating totally new and exclusive products, business models and technology solutions is not always necessary in today's innovative economy; it is often sufficient to use the knowledge and inventions already available worldwide, according to professor Mikhail Shushkin and associate professor Sergey Alexandrovskiy, researchers at the Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management, HSE Branch in Nizhny Novgorod.
Interesting Work and a Comfortable Workplace Motivate Employees of Startups
For a business startup to grow and thrive, its employees should have a vested interest in its success. Employee incentives may include bonuses, equity and profit sharing, recognition of accomplishments, opportunities for career development, and flexible work schedules. But being inspired by a new challenge and proud of work well done can motivate people even more effectively, according to Olga Gaponova, Associate Professor at the Department of General and Strategic Management, HSE Branch in Nizhny Novgorod.
No Crisis Wage Cuts in Russia
Russian firms prefer to freeze rather than cut employee wages during crises, reasoning that high inflation will cause real wages to drop anyway, while nominal wage cuts may prompt valued employees to leave, suggests Alexander Larin, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, HSE Branch in Nizhny Novgorod, in his paper 'Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity: Unions' Achievement or Employers' Choice?'
Russian Youth Infected with Conspicuous Consumption
Buying name-brand goods and services boosts the majority of younger Russians’ self-esteem, allowing them to maintain their reputation, gain respect, and demonstrate their family’s material wealth, according to research conducted by Natalia Shaidakova of HSE Nizhny Novgorod’s Department of Marketing. Students from elite Russian schools raise their prestige with the help of expensive cars, restaurants and personal items, while students from ordinary schools and universities flaunt the newest and most expensive cell phone models to one another.