Research & Expertise news at HSE University

At the end of November, HSE School of Linguistics hosted the Uslar Conference — an international event for scholars studying the Caucasian languages. Participants and organizers have shared their impressions with HSE News.

HSE researchers found different patterns of brain activity involved in processing instrumental and non-instrumental verbs.

Professor Geeraerts visited HSE School of Linguistics in November to deliver a course on cognitive sociolinguistics for students of Bachelor's programme in Fundamental and Computational Linguistics and Master’s programme in Linguistic Theory and Language Description and hold individual consultations. The visit was initiated by Nina Dobrushina (School of Linguistics). Prof Geeraets has also been long acquainted with Ekaterina Rakhilina, the Head of the School of Linguistics.

HSE and the publishing house Elsevier have inaugurated the Golden Reference award to recognize researchers whose articles are most cited and which have the greatest influence on the development of research and society. Ingrid van de Stadt, Regional Director for Marketing at Elsevier, has talked to HSE News Service about how best to evaluate the quality of academic publications, and what is often left out of this evaluation.

How are students and graduates adjusting and adapting to the realities in their educational and career trajectories? What role does culture play in the sociology of education? How are attitudes towards higher education changing? These are just some of the many questions being addressed over the course a two-day conference entitled ‘Cultural Sociology and Education: Meanings, Choices and Trajectories’ that is being held on December 1-2 at the HSE Institute of Education in Moscow. HSE News Service has spoken to two conference participants, James Hurlbert of Yale University and Amy Binder from University of California, San Diego.

A good knowledge of algebra and geometry helps schoolchildren to solve some other types of tasks, including applied ones. These are the findings made by researchers from HSE, Stanford, and Michigan State University in a joint study.

Tilmann Reuther, Professor at the University of Klagenfurt, and his colleague Joulia Köstenbaumer talk to the HSE News Service about their experience of cooperation with the School of Linguistics and internships in Austria.

It has long been known to science that women find it easier than men to switch between tasks. But how exactly their brains function differently in such situations has so far been unclear. Recent research reveals that male brains appear to consume more energy when they need to shift attention. In addition to this, in men there is greater activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal areas of the brain compared to women, as well as activation in some other areas which is not usually observed in women.