Klaipėdos universitetas

The subject of this research is feminine gender roles in Kristina Sabaliauskaitė’s Silva rerum and Kerstin Thorvall’s The Story of Signe. The aim of the thesis is to identify the most common traditional and non-traditional gender roles of women in historical literary narratives by two women writers. The study identifies six gender roles of women: four traditional (mother and wife, daughter and care-giver/housewife), and two non-traditional (adventurer and competitor). The research shows that in historical literary narratives, despite the space-time of the novels, the main semantic axis remains the traditional gender roles of women. The failure to fulfil traditional gender roles determines the emergence of non-traditional gender roles, and a negative impact on the state of women in the novels.

The book Hegel’s Century: Alienation and Recognition in a Time of Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2021) by Jon Stewart is a profound philosophical book. Reading Hegel is a challenge that requires close attention and a philosophical background; nevertheless, reading Hegel together with Jon Stewart is fully rewarded. The great value of the book is that it is mainly very easy to read, and that makes it different from traditional philosophy books, which people find too difficult. The book has an elegant text and a highly individual way of writing. It has already received recognition in the 2021 Prose Awards by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for excellence in prose in the category Winner in Philosophy.

The article presents the traditions and superstitions of film production workers in Lithuania in the mid-20th and the early 21st century. Based on field research data collected in 2020 and 2021, it turned out that most traditions are transferred or adopted from other countries’ film industries and their employees. The research data reveal what symbolic actions are performed on a film set to indicate the successful implementation of the project or part of it. The strengthening of social ties between film production workers is expressed through the tradition of gift-giving or other traditions formed in individual groups, whereas superstitions, which are common among film production workers, are mostly aimed at attracting success, dealing with fear or anxiety while working on a project, or avoiding anything you do not want to happen.

Radiation therapy is an important part of breast cancer treatment, reducing local recurrence and improving overall survival. About 1,500 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in Lithuania every year. About 30% of all newly diagnosed cancers in women are breast cancer, and about 80% of early-stage breast cancers are treated with radiotherapy. New modern radiation techniques have been evaluated with a better understanding of the effects of radiation on the heart. The article reviews the implementation of the deep inhalation breath hold technique in the clinical practice of Klaipėda University Hospital. The purpose of this article is to analyse the results of the first two years after the implementation of the new methods. Assessing the importance of radiotherapy, the author reveals the importance of the innovative deep breathing method in the article, and shares the experience she has gathered. At the same time, scientific and practical assumptions are made that, after the introduction of innovative radiotherapy technologies into practice, new opportunities for optimising the treatment of patients by individualising it open up. The results of the study reveal the need for a prospective cohort study in order to optimise patient education, clarify selection criteria, and increase the availability of modern radiotherapy services. The presentation of this method in an interdisciplinary environment of social and health care specialists allows specialists to familiarise themselves with the achievements of oncological radiotherapy in west Lithuania.

The article focuses on the shift in meaning assigned to the symbol of the holiday tree, specifically its transformation from the Christmas tree into a New Year’s tree. This transformation occurred due to the reorganisation of the ritual calendar by the Soviet occupying regime in Lithuania. The primary objective is to discuss the (political) contest for dominance over this symbol, as portrayed in children’s periodicals, interwar Lithuanian Žiburėlis and Soviet Lithuanian Genys. The theoretical approach is based on the concept of symbolic conflict as articulated by the anthropologist Simon Harrison. The study helps us to understand the mechanism behind the shift of meaning concerning the holiday tree in Soviet Lithuania.

The article shows the expression of social innovation in the Lithuanian military. By presenting different innovation models and processes, the authors argue that social innovation could be an effective tool for increasing the efficiency, resilience and intelligence of the armed forces. While the general public perception of the military is very technocratic, social practices (leadership, collaboration, communication) can broaden that perception through social innovation. The empirical study reveals that the expression of social innovation enriches social practices, and introduces new perspectives, ranging from advanced mental health support measures to operational collaborative strategies. Social innovation can contribute to the management of contemporary challenges both in the military and in society. By presenting the current expression of social innovation, the paper reveals the opportunities for improving social innovation in the Lithuanian military.

As information technology is becoming a huge part of people’s lives, various genres of folklore are moving online. Old folklore genres are adapting to the changes in people’s lives and are successfully spreading in the online space, while black humour genres on the Internet reflect society, current issues, stereotypes, scandals, and real-life situations. The aim of the article is not only to classify memes (comic units of cultural information), but also to show their relevance and popularity in contemporary society. The paper describes 15 different groups of memes collected from 13 online sources. The analysed works are grouped according to their popularity and the length of their dissemination in the virtual environment (popular, tendentious), and from the most popular examples of this genre, fan-made and political memetic works are distinguished.

The article examines the expression and dynamics of the phenomenon of murder in the city of Klaipėda between 2004 and 2014. This period, which began with the accession of Lithuania to the European Union, has a very important context of societal changes, which provided the authors of the article with theoretical and practical access to an analysis of the causality and expression of the phenomenon of murder. The sociological approach reveals a socio-demographic portrait of the victim and the person who committed a murder, in the context of segments of the structural expression of the phenomenon of murder (age, gender, social status). The article presents statistical data from murders registered in the Official Register of Criminal Acts (ORCA). For the analysis of these data, the authors purposefully chose the positivist theories of external restraint and subculture of violence, which have practical access to reveal segments of the structural expression of the phenomenon of murder in a changing society. This presupposes access to the continuity of research on the resolution of the phenomenon of murder in the next decade (2015 to 2023). The research results presented in the article focus on the development of murder prevention strategies for all structural platforms of society, especially in the fields of education, law and social policy.