Exercises:
I. Word Study.
1. Learn the pronunciation and remember the following words:
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a
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a
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vi
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2. Translate and learn the following words and phrases:
case studies n pl |
deal (with smth.) vi |
efficiency n |
Federation subject n phr |
former a |
historical-comparative technique n phr |
host vt |
manpower policy n phr |
methodology n |
political governance n phr |
political institution n phr |
public administration n phr |
public body n phr |
public management n phr |
qualitative method n phr |
quantitative method n phr |
social sciences n phr pl |
socio-political a |
staff n |
successor n |
II. Questions for Discussion:
1. Discuss possible practical applicability of the qualifications obtained at the Department.
2. If you study at the Department, write a brief description of how you participate in its activities.
Department of Political Institutions and Applied Political Research
At the Department of Political Institutions and Applied Political Research students specialize in applied political studies. They acquire knowledge and skills necessary to conduct independent empirical political research. The Department was established in 1992 to train specialists in the field of applied studies of political institutions and processes. Students receive training in modern techniques of empirical data collection and analysis and can work as analysts, consultants, and counsels. A Dissertation Council functions at the Department for the following specializations: ‘Political Institutions and Processes’ (awarding degrees in sociology), and ‘Political Sociology’ (awarding degrees in political science).
The Department’s research activities lie mainly in applied political studies. The Department cooperates with the Centre for Sociological Research of the University, the Institute of Socio-Political Research, and the Centre for Applied Political Research. The Department has a research centre that organizes public opinion polls in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region at the request of local institutions, political parties, and deputy candidates.
The Department’s staff and students participated in the First Russian Philosophy Congress (1997), the First (1998) and Second (2000) Russian Congresses in Political Science, as well as in a number of conferences, including ‘Local Government in the Russian Federation: Experience of Formation and Perspectives of Development’ (1997), ‘Socio-Political Reform in Russia and the Young Generation’ (1997), ‘Sociology of the Young Generation’ (1997), ‘Elections in the Russian Federation: Federal and Regional Aspects’ (1999).
The Department’s staff have published a series of textbooks in political science and political sociology. They include Basics of Political Science (1992) and Political Sociology (1998) by Head of Department, Professor G. Artyomov, World Political Processes by Professor D. Mutagirov (1999), Bureaucracy as a Public Authority (1998) and Bureaucracy in the System of Political Power (1999) by Assistant Professor A. Makarin, and Methods and Techniques of Empirical Research by Assistant Professor O. Popova (2000).
The Department’s staff take part in academic exchange programmes with the Universities of Tübingen, Berlin, and Wroclaw.
The Department’s alumni work at the Saint Petersburg Centre for Election Techniques, independent analytic centres, advertising agencies, proprietary organizations, and universities; some of the graduates continue their studies at the postgraduate school. Most of them participate (as consultants, image makers, and analysts) in the preparation and organization of electoral campaigns at different levels.
The main courses given at the Department are: Political Sociology (Professor G. Artyomov), History and Theory of Political Institutions (Professor D. Mutagirov), Methodology and Techniques of Empirical Political Research (Associate Professor O. Popova), Organization and Techniques of Electoral Campaigns (Associate Professor O. Popova).