This volume combines approaches from three disciplines - economics, sociology, and demography - and empirically analyzes the key aspects of the labor market and social demography processes in post-Soviet transitional societies while focusing on the gender perspective. Here, readers will find empirical studies on such countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The volume contributes to the literature by addressing the lack of academic empirical research on gender difference issues in the labor markets of post-Soviet countries as well as gender inequalities in fertility preferences, gender disparities among the youth and elderly, the gender pay gap, gender differences in employment, and female voices. The book brings together researchers of different disciplines from a variety of countries, distinguishing this project as international and interdisciplinary. The authors use the quantitative survey micro-data approach as well as the qualitative methods of interview data analysis to provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of the economic and social developments in the region regarding gender differences. The volume consists of three parts tackling the following topics: 1) gender differences and demography (family formation and fertility, youth and elderly employment); 2) gender differences and labor market (gender wage gap, motherhood wage penalty, gender differences among freelancers, and women in STEM science); and 3) gender differences, well-being, and gender equality attitudes (women's voices, women's collective actions, gender equality attitudes, and spending patterns of housewives).

Central Asian post-independence media and communication industries, professional practices, education, persisting and evolving values, and traditions remain critically understudied with a notable scarcity of research and scholarly publications on the complex and increasingly changing communicative ecology landscape of this region. Mapping the Media and Communication Landscape of Central Asia: An Anthology of Emerging and Contemporary Issues addresses this gap in literature by exploring, analyzing, and shedding light to the field, practice, research and critical inquiry of media and mass communication in four countries in Central Asia-Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. This book includes local authors as well as new and emerging researchers from this region to contextualize the issues explored and provide a supportive dialogue between different points of view.

This book examines the demographic development of Russia from the late Russian Empire to the contemporary Russian Federation, and includes discussions of marriage patterns, fertility, mortality, and inter-regional migration. In this pioneering study, the authors present the first English-language overview of demographic data collection in Russia. Chapters in the book offer a systematic overview of the legislation regulating fertility and the family sphere, a study of the factors determining first and higher order births, and an examination of population distribution across Russian regions. The book also combines research tools from the social sciences with a medical approach to provide a study of mortality rates. By bringing together approaches from several disciplines - demography, economics, and sociology - the authors of this book provide a comprehensive and detailed assessment of the historical roots of Russia's demographic development.

This volume combines approaches from three disciplines - economics, sociology, and demography - and empirically analyzes the key aspects of the labor market and social demography processes in post-Soviet transitional societies while focusing on the gender perspective. Here, readers will find empirical studies on such countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The volume contributes to the literature by addressing the lack of academic empirical research on gender difference issues in the labor markets of post-Soviet countries as well as gender inequalities in fertility preferences, gender disparities among the youth and elderly, the gender pay gap, gender differences in employment, and female voices. The book brings together researchers of different disciplines from a variety of countries, distinguishing this project as international and interdisciplinary. The authors use the quantitative survey micro-data approach as well as the qualitative methods of interview data analysis to provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of the economic and social developments in the region regarding gender differences. The volume consists of three parts tackling the following topics: 1) gender differences and demography (family formation and fertility, youth and elderly employment); 2) gender differences and labor market (gender wage gap, motherhood wage penalty, gender differences among freelancers, and women in STEM science); and 3) gender differences, well-being, and gender equality attitudes (women's voices, women's collective actions, gender equality attitudes, and spending patterns of housewives).

COVID-19 caused massive disruptions in the higher education sector across the world. The transition to online learning exposed the deep-rooted inequalities between countries, systems, institutions, and student groups in terms of the availability of information technology infrastructure, internet access and digital literacy, as well as prior training and experiences of faculty in online education. This volume explores various aspects of the impact of the pandemic on higher education management including how university administration responded to the crisis, and the role of local and national government agencies in academic support and higher education delivery. The key findings highlight the importance of better organisation and preparedness of higher education systems for future crises, and the need for a better dialogue between governments, higher education institutions and other stakeholders. The book calls for a collective response to address the digital divide among various groups and financial inequalities within and between the private and public universities, and to plan for the serious challenges that international students face during crisis situations.