Regional Formation and Development Studies

The Circular Economy (CE), as a possible transformation of economies, became very popular and widely discussed from 2015 when the worldwide importance of ecological preservation became highly in demand. To be able to implement the circular economy concept in various economies, its importance and prepared alterations to government regulations have to be widely discussed, and at the same time businesses and consumers have to prepare to live and work in the new paradigm. Consumers have to note the additional value of circular products and services, and their positive impact on health and the environment. Businesses will only start changing when they realise that new business models are available and they can keep profitability at the same level, even though consumption in general might change. The main aim of this article is to perform a theoretical analysis of the impact of the circular economy on a state’s economy. The main tools used for the research in the article were analysis, comparison and the summary of scientific literature. The article overviews possible changes and their impact on state economics in the future.

The Great Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008 to 2010 increased the size of the public debt and decreased the fiscal space. The problem stems from the fact that fiscal resources are limited. Many OECD countries had used a substantial part of their limited fiscal space. Researchers suspected that higher levels of public debt in the future could slow down GDP growth. The first attempts to detect the tipping point at which GDP growth stalls or loses steam were made right after the GFC. However, the discussion was left open. The Covid-19 crisis required the further use of unprecedented amounts of fiscal stimulus resources to stabilise the economic situation. The objective of this paper is to establish whether new data of elevated public debt levels in relation to GDP confirms that higher levels of debt to GDP have an impact on future GDP growth and future financial stability. Debt and GDP data from OECD countries for the years 2000 to 2026 was used in order to carry out multilinear regression analysis, establishing the relationship between debt and future GDP growth. The results provide compelling evidence that the accumulation of higher debt levels slows down GDP growth, and require more fiscal resources in the future to stabilise the economic situation, compared with countries with lower accumulated public debt levels. Hence, higher inflation will require even more resources to service the debt.

This study presents the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of an educational programme that combines an online game and an outdoor activity with mobile learning in science education. The object of the study is to test the capacity of the programme to integrate science, culture and the environment, while transferring knowledge about marble. To this end, we align our theoretical orientation with the overall project design to devise an initial scheme that is pilot-tested by 155 university students of early childhood education and evaluated through a questionnaire. Qualitative data through participants’ feedback after the programme, observation notes and data from video recordings supplement the overall assessment. The results show high levels of satisfaction among the participants in terms of the quality of the activities, the distance between stations, the duration and structure of the programme, contact with marble, and the knowledge acquired.

This article analyses the concept of hospital resilience to natural disasters (earthquakes, global warming, pandemics, and man-made disasters such as war, conflict and cyber-attacks) in the context of theoretical insights in scholarly articles on the concept of resilience, and elements of its perception and other aspects. The research conducted identified that the concept of a resilient hospital encompasses its ability to maintain functionality at minimal resource costs, and reduce the likelihood of shock in the event of various disasters. This capacity to withstand hazard can be of various types, for example, constructive, infrastructural or administrative. The following four elements are most commonly identified levels of resilience: context, disturbance, capacity to deal with disturbance, and reaction to disturbance. A resilient hospital maintains the following characteristics: rapidity, robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, awareness, diversity, self-regulation, unity and adaptiveness. A variety of means are used to amplify resilience to distinct disasters and it is relevant to manage different types of resilience, but the human factor is indisputably essential in this framework.

Nowadays, managing co-creation has become an important topic among practitioners and researchers, but there has been little research on addressing and managing the challenges faced by the complexity of co-creation. The paper argues that co-creation should also be understood as a complex, dynamic phenomenon. The purpose of the paper is to summarise and classify extant research into co-creation. The paper reviews complexity as a new way of understanding co-creation processes for corporate social responsibility in business. A review of the literature has established that corporate social responsibility, along with the complexity of co-creation, can produce successful results for businesses.

The relevance and importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have long been recognised in the business sector. Previous research has shown that CSR has a positive impact on a company’s financial performance, value, reputation, brand image, customer loyalty, and a variety of other factors. CSR has been studied from a variety of viewpoints, with the bulk of studies focusing on the meso-level dimensions of CSR. The number of studies on micro-level CSR processes has so far been limited, but has recently increased. For CSR to be effective, it is necessary to understand the correlation of the processes on both levels. The purpose of the research is to investigate CSR micro-level processes and their impact on meso-level performance, with additional attention to the hospitality industry. Research methods: analysis of scientific publications, analysis of previously conducted research and results, and other scholarly literature. The results of this study indicate that the micro-level processes of the stakeholder groups involved, mostly customers and employees, have a direct impact on internal and external CSR initiatives and their meso-level outcomes, which might be both positive and negative. The results also indicate a possible research gap, as the number of studies on micro-level CSR processes in hospitality has so far been limited, and the findings cannot be considered exhaustive or conclusive.

The inclusion of the fight against climate change as a target of sustainability determines the need to adopt forceful measures to reduce the effects of climate change. The current situation allows us to see that in the near future its effects will be devastating and irreversible unless drastic measures are adopted imminently. This paper aims to evaluate the legal measures taken through Spanish law, framed in the legal context of the European Union, to assess their real effectiveness. The methods of the research are the scientific methodology of legal disciplines, mainly regulatory analysis and other legal instruments, as well as case law. The results obtained show that some specific actions have been adopted through formal and informal current regulations, but much more could still be done to enforce more drastic measures in the fight against climate change. In this sense, this paper makes some recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the measures taken with this purpose.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought changes to every country’s economy. The increasing number of cases, the lack of equipment and supplies, and the disruption of production and services, led to strong measures to stop the spread of the virus. The pandemic also had a significant impact on the stability of existing businesses. The announcement of lockdown and the resulting restrictions influenced consumer behaviour, and companies have had to adapt quickly to current changes in order to maintain economic security. The suspension or restriction of activities affected the income, profits and business continuity of companies. The main purpose of this article is to analyse how the Covid-19 pandemic affected the economic security of small and medium-size Lithuanian companies. What impact did the pandemic have on the Lithuanian economy and the business dynamics of organisations? Using research methods, scientific literature and statistical data, a comparative analysis was performed to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Lithuanian organisations. Based on the results, Lithuania was the least affected by the pandemic in the context of the European Union. However, there was a lot of uncertainty at the beginning of 2021; but the economy grew faster than expected. The volume of industrial production increased, retail and international trade grew. Despite the pandemic, growth was maintained in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail sectors. The impact of the pandemic was felt most in the services sector: accommodation and food service activities, the arts, entertainment and recreation, service and administrative activities.

In an ever-changing world, the goals of education and the expectations of education policy makers, society and parents for the education system are also changing. Pre-school educational institutions need teachers with professional excellence and leadership skills who are constantly improving their competencies. In this context, the management of a teacher’s career is becoming a particularly important issue. In the management of a teacher’s career, not only the motivation of the teacher himself but also the role of the headmaster is very important in creating conditions and providing opportunities for the development of a teacher’s career. The article reveals the attitude of headmasters in pre-school educational institutions to the possibilities of pedagogue career management. It presents the results of qualitative research (interviews with headmasters in pre-school institutions), which revealed that headmasters understand the importance of teachers’ career management both for the teacher himself and for the quality of the institution’s activities. Some headmasters take care of a teacher’s career, creating conditions for improving competencies, and providing financial and psychological support. However, not all headmasters in pre-school institutions create favourable conditions for the development of a teacher’s career by delegating this function to the teacher himself.

Policininkų psichoemocinė būsena, jų patiriamo streso darbe ypatumai, streso valdymas yra aktualios visuomenės sveikatos problemos. Darbe patiriamas stresas gali lemti pareigūnų atliekamo darbo kokybės prastėjimą, prastą darbo funkcijų atlikimą. Straipsnyje keliamas tyrimo tikslas – policijos pareigūnų darbe patiriamo streso analizė. Tyrime dalyvavo 138 Lietuvos komisariatų policijos pareigūnai. Atliktas kiekybinis tyrimas, apklausa raštu. Naudota SPSS programa, taikytas chi kvadrato kriterijus. Duomenys reikšmingi, kai p ≤0,05. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad policijos pareigūnams reikėtų kurti palankesnę, saugesnę ir sveikesnę darbo aplinką, vis dar trūksta vadovų palaikymo ir pasitikėjimo jais.