ABSTRACT
The role of nutrition in the treatment of diseases is known, and it can be a contributing and hindering factor which can shorten or prolong the time of treatment. Studies on mental health have shown that the inclusion of certain nutrient in increased amounts in patients' diet can have a positive effect on the treatment of depression, anxiety etc. The COVID-19 pandemic increases the risk of depression in general population, which means an increased number of patients in need of professional help. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the patients' diets in Latvian psycho-neurological hospitals, emphasizing the provision of certain nutrients which are essential for mental health. There were analyzed a one-week menu at three Latvian psycho-neurological hospitals. Provision of nutrients (minerals, vitamins, fatty acids) in patients' diets was calculated using Finish food composition database. Basic conditions for provision of patients' diet are determined by the regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers, indicating the daily variety of energy value, minimum and maximum amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The obtained results regarding patients' diets were processed using MS Excel and SPSS Statistics 22. The required amount of nutrients per day can be achieved with a variety of foods which in turn can significantly affect the concentration of minerals and vitamins and profile of fatty acids in the diet. In general, the provision of minerals and vitamins in hospitals' diets was close to the recommendations of a healthy person, but it was not sufficient for psycho-neurological hospital patients. It would be desirable to raise their concentration by increasing the amount of vegetables and fruits in the diet. Analysis of fatty acid profile in patients' diets showed significant differences depending on whether fish or meat products were included. It would be advisable to increase the concentration of omega-3 fatty acids. In general, the nutrition provision for patients of psycho-neurological hospitals could be assessed as sufficient, but several aspects need to be improved. Vitamin D intake should be significantly increased as it didn't reach the generally recommended dose. Fruit should be included and the amount of vegetables should be increased to provide a recommendation of at least 400 g per day, which in turn will increase the intake of vitamins and minerals.
ABSTRACT
Purpose - the aim of this paper is to analyze the gastronomic tourism trends in the world and in Lithuania, to determine the opportunities and the potential of gastronomic tourism in Lithuania and to provide recommendations for its development. Design - the theoretical part gives the understanding of gastronomic tourism in the world and its potential in Lithuania. The research gives an understanding of gastronomic tourism situation in Lithuania. Methodology - the research was done using analysis of scientific literature, secondary data analysis method of analysis and synthesis, quantitative research. The quantitative method used in this paper is a survey conducted among the local travelers. The results of the research were statistically processed using the Excel. Approach - gastronomic tourism is becoming an increasingly popular area of tourism, generating billions in revenue for businesses worldwide. According to the Global Report on Food Tourism, 79 percent travelers travel itinerary consists of a pre-analyzed calendar of gastronomic events and local cuisine, one in three travelers consider national cuisine to be a motivating travel choice and spends about 30 percent on food of total travel expenses. Findings - in Lithuania, gastronomic travel is still a relatively new niche in tourism. In recent years, this area of tourism has attracted considerable interest from foreign tourists and local travelers, however, the Covid 19 pandemic halted travel. Due to the tense situation in Europe, Lithuania still does not receive a larger number of tourists from foreign countries. Hospitality businesses use variety of means to engage, attract, and encourage local people to travel. Gastronomic tourism is one of such measures, as Lithuania can offer travelers quality local food, interesting national dishes with deep traditions, various food festivals and events. Originality of the research - the article analyzes results of research, discusses ways of attracting local tourists introducing more variety in gastronomic tourism. Practical implications are based on research findings and could be used by local travel agencies creating new gastronomic tourism products.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most unprecedented crises of recent decades with a global effect on society and the economy. It has triggered changes in the behavior and consumption patterns of both final consumer and industrial consumers. The consumption patterns of industrial consumers are also influenced by changes in consumer values, environmental regulations, and technological developments. One of the technological highlights of the last decade is biocomposite materials being increasingly used by the packaging industry. The pandemic has highlighted the problems and challenges of the development of biocomposites to adapt to new market conditions. This study aims to investigate the industrial consumption of biocomposite materials and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the main stages of the value chain of sustainable industrial consumption of biocomposites. The research results reveal there is a growing interest in the use of biocomposites. Suppliers and processors of raw materials are being encouraged to optimize and adapt cleaner production processes in the sustainable transition pathway. The study highlights the positive impact of COVID-19 on the feedstock production, raw material processing, and packaging manufacturing stages of the value chain as well as the neutral impact on the product manufacturing stage and negative impact on the retail stage. The companies willing to move toward the sustainable industrial chain have to incorporate economic, environmental, social, stakeholder, volunteer, resilience, and long-term directions within their strategies.
ABSTRACT
The construction industry, like other industries, is being forced to change the working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, within the limits set by the EU and the government. Construction is an industry in which a large part of the construction process cannot be carried out remotely, regardless of the level of technological development. Manufacturing, construction, assembly, and other works require a great deal of human labour. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when it is necessary to distance, these construction processes may be adversely affected. However, the use of technologies such as Construction Information Modelling (BIM) and the new Construction Information System (BIS) allows the design industry not to stop using the latest construction technology tools. Digital technologies increase production efficiency, complement other factors of production and stimulate innovation, significantly reduce costs and overcome information barriers. The interpretation of statistics and the interviews conducted confirmed the hypothesis that the virus has had negative and positive effects within the constructor sector of the economy. The research aims to investigate the problems and challenges faced by the construction industry in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying the main obstacles to the introduction of digital technologies in the Latvian construction sector, as well as other problems faced by the industry in the coronary virus COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia, analyze the construction sector and identify the COVID-19 pandemic effect on Latvia's construction sector. As part of the study, an electronic questionnaire was established and a survey was carried out to identify the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia's construction sector, the results were compiled and the conclusions were reached.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has changed the pedagogical work of university lecturers. All lecturers have been forced to learn quickly and to find new educational solutions for distance learning. The biggest challenges were in organizing and conducting laboratory work remotely and in motivating students to participate actively in the learning process. During the online teaching period, university lecturers have gained new knowledge, skills and tried various pedagogical solutions. These include the use of different software applications, creation of short video lectures, the use of pre-prepared video and audio instructions, and many more. In this paper, a qualitative content analysis was used to study the case of teaching with technologies to engineering students at universities in Latvia and Lithuania. The study discloses the challenges faced by university lecturers in preparing video materials, organizing laboratory work, and assessing student performance. Recommendations based on the research findings have been provided. These recommendations could be useful not only for university lecturers who teach engineering subjects but also for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics pedagogues and vocational education trainers and educators.
ABSTRACT
Within the COVID-19 pandemic period teachers at higher educational institutions have been forced to shift their traditional classroom strategies to blended learning which involves a combination of online instructional format with traditional face-to-face one. This approach to education has also been adopted by foreign language teachers of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies and integrated into the Academic English course for postgraduate engineering students. The present research highlights the importance of reflection in the educational process and is aimed to investigate students' perceptions of their blended learning experience. In the course of the study, a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire were administered involving postgraduate engineering students. The analysis of the results obtained in student reflection provided empirical evidence to the claim that the students were advantageously influenced as a result of the blended learning environment in the Academic English course. Most of the students confirmed that all necessary Academic English skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking can be developed in a hybrid format, that blended learning environment promotes self-directed learning skills and enhances motivation to study the foreign language. The majority of the respondents reported value of virtual reality that increased meaningful interaction and built a sense of community and spoke in favor of continuing education in blended learning context. The final part of the article presents conclusions of the research findings and recommendations for the EAP practitioners which could also be used in an ordinary post pandemic study process.
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This paper highlights the specific aspects of the eighth wave of SHARE in which face-to-face interviewing has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, and a methodological turn has been made, i.e. face-to-face interviews have been replaced with a short CATI (telephone) survey called "SHARE Corona". From the database of insured persons of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO), 4,990 persons born in 1963 and earlier were randomly selected. In all countries that had refresher samples, the response rate was 51.3% at the household level and 46.8% at the individual level. The seventh SHARE wave, called SHARELIFE, was mainly retrospective, accomplishing a full EU coverage. As a part of the seventh wave, a relatively small refresher sample was selected in Croatia i.e. 346 interviews were conducted in 234 households. The minimum satisfactory response rate of 30% was achieved at the household level. In Croatia, the retention rate of respondents in the seventh wave was 84.6%, which was the highest retention rate of respondents between waves six and seven. In Slovenia, it was 82.9%, in Greece 82.8%, in Estonia 82.2%, in Belgium 70.4%, in France 64.9%, and in Italy 62%. The sampling procedure for the refresher sample in wave eight in Croatia followed the standard phases of two-stage sampling. Primary sampling units were polling stations selected based on a probability proportional to the number of voters aged 50+ at each polling station. The sample was stratified by counties and by settlement size. In the second phase, the gross sample of individuals aged 50 or older was selected randomly. The SHARE study today faces a number of challenges, the most prominent ones being the retention of European coverage due to lack of funding and the future method of surveying in the light of COVID-19. In Croatia, joining the SHARE study was marked by significant challenges. Firstly, SHARE is the first longitudinal study on demographic ageing conducted in our country. Secondly, the SHARE survey requires ample financial resources, so the size of the Croatian sample had to be adjusted accordingly and to meet high scientific standards set by the SHARE study. The third significant challenge that the SHARE research team faced were barriers to accessing the sampling framework. Substantial efforts were undertaken to demonstrate that the SHARE study adheres to all ethical standards and regulations related to the protection of the personal data of respondents. Another issue was the limited number of survey agencies in Croatia that can conduct demanding surveys of this type.
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The objective of the study is to examine the patterns of the employment of older people in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania over the recent decade and the changes brought about by the first wave coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020. The study is based on the Eurostat statistical data as well as the microdata from the recent wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE). Particular attention is paid to the data collected in SHARE Wave 8 COVID-19 Survey conducted in June-August 2020 in 26 European countries and Israel via computer-assisted telephone interviews. Questions examined how people aged 50 years and older coped with socioeconomic and health-related impact of COVID-19. During the last decade, participation of older age groups in labour market is gradually growing with the increase of the statutory retirement age and life expectancy. Employment rates in the pre-retirement and post-retirement age groups are comparatively high in Latvia and other Baltic States as contrasted to the EU averages, especially among women. Despite of relatively worse health status, people in the Baltic countries also demonstrate the highest share of respondents with willingness to work even upon reaching pension age. In 2020, the COVID-19 had relatively mild impact on it. The branches with traditionally high share of workers aged 50+ (education, healthcare, agriculture, administrative services) were least affected by lockdown measures.
ABSTRACT
Russia and the Baltic States have a long-standing relationship of industrial specialisation, cooperation, division of labour and trade exchange, all dating back to the Soviet Union. Today, this relationship is facing a tough test amid political and ideological challenges and risks. The last two years have seen a profound and large-scale crisis caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the production linkages between Russia and the Baltic States have adapted in response to the existing problems, remaining resistant to the geopolitical and pandemic shocks. This article examines the production linkages between Russia and the Baltic countries, investigating the export-import flows of consumer and intermediate goods in 2003—2020. A comparative study of the Baltic States’ production linkages with Russia and their main partners in the EU — Germany and Finland — is carried out. It is concluded that, before the introduction of sanctions in 2014 and the world trade crisis of 2015—2016, Russia was a more promising market than Germany and Finland for the Baltic States’ companies trading in intermediate goods. © Varnavskii, V. G. 2022
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to investigate the effects of various fiscal policy measures for small and open economies by analysing the implications of fiscal shocks in the Baltic countries based on data for the period from 1995 to 2018. For this purpose, we have chosen structural VAR estimation methods following Blanchard, O., & Perotti, R. (2002). An Empirical Characterization of the Dynamic Effects of Changes in Government Spending and Taxes on Output. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(4), 1329–1368, approach and relied on local projections for robustness checks. We find that the impact on growth of direct taxes, government consumption and public investment is strong and persistent in the analysed cases. Although the responses of FDI to fiscal shocks are less consistent as compared to output, in most cases, we get strong and persistent negative reactions in FDI to increasing tax burden.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has created shock and turbulence for the tourism industry in Baltic states such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. To recover from the situation, tourism service providers had to act accordingly to maintain and sustain the tourism sector during and after the pandemic. The objective of the study is to analyse strategies adopted by Baltic states during and post pandemic times to recover the tourism industry. Design/Methodology/Approach: The qualitative research method is based on survey and expert opinion of stakeholders of tourism in Baltic states. Further authors used content analysis of country and industry statements, articles, video stories, lectures and meetings. Findings: Conclusion shows that there are several similarities in the recovery tactics of tourism by the government and other stakeholders amid the COVID-19 pandemic which include opening of borders among three countries for travellers, ability to jointly seek a solution for transformation, a common understanding between various tourism service providers. Non-governmental organisations demonstrated their power in influencing political decisions to adopt recovery strategies of tourism. Originality/Value: This study provides a greater understanding of the state of tourism in Baltic states during the pandemic in general and the role of stakeholders in the process of recovery of tourism. The study provides the basement for continuing deeper research of COVID-19 influence on tourism in the Baltic states. © 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited.
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges to societies, individual healthcare systems and global public health. Manifestations of increasing health inequalities, social stigmatization and challenging ethical decision-making have been previously noticed. The aim of this article is to analyse the perceptions of frontline healthcare professionals regarding the potential impact of COVID-19 on the provision of healthcare services and the ethical challenges it may entail. Method: This research is a part of a larger research project which was conducted among frontline healthcare professionals in Estonia and used both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. In this article, answers to specific open-ended questions from the questionnaire (n = 116) and in-depth interviews (n = 8) were analysed. For data analysis, inductive content analysis was used. The research was granted ethical approval.
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Purpose – to analyse the digitalization trends in the Central Caucasian (Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia) and Baltic States with the aim of reducing a financial gap for the Small and Medium size Enterprises in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Research methodology – comparative analysis between Baltic and Caucasian countries are made to analyse the basic positions and farther development opportunities for Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Findings of the given paper – while SME sector crucially important contributor to employment, diversification and productivity in any country of the world and especially in developing ones, they still face significant credit constraints through traditional credit providing institutions. However, the trend is changing and modern digital technologies from the fintech area are providing new alternatives, which already had been widely used in Baltic, but still are waiting their chance in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, with different level of progress and readiness. Research limitations – some statistical data does not exist for all six countries or were possible to obtain for different periods of time. Lack of academic literature on fintech in Caucasian countries. Practical implications – It can provide a useful perspective for researchers, academics, investors, investment managers, decision-makers, and scientists. Originality/Value – The paper analyses three advanced European Union member state’s (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) fintech positions and perspectives as a model of development for three developing Caucasian states (Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia).
ABSTRACT
Carbon capture is among the most sustainable strategies to limit carbon dioxide emissions, which account for a large share of human impact on climate change and ecosystem destruction. This growing threat calls for novel solutions to reduce emissions on an industrial level. Carbon capture by amorphous solids is among the most reasonable options as it requires less energy when compared to other techniques and has comparatively lower development and maintenance costs. In this respect, the method of carbon dioxide adsorption by solids can be used in the long-term and on an industrial scale. Furthermore, certain sorbents are reusable, which makes their use for carbon capture economically justified and acquisition of natural resources full and sustainable. Clay minerals, which are a universally available and versatile material, are amidst such sorbents. These materials are capable of interlayer and surface adsorption of carbon dioxide. In addition, their modification allows to improve carbon dioxide adsorption capabilities even more. The aim of the review is to discuss the prospective of the most widely available clay minerals in the Baltic States for large-scale carbon dioxide emission reduction and to suggest suitable approaches for clay modification to improve carbon dioxide adsorption capacity.