Klaipėdos universitetas

The article discusses the concept of international social work. International social work peculiarities working with refugees and asylum-seekers in Lithuania and Sweden are analysed. Analysis of international social work with refugees and asylum-seekers revealed collaboration features, challenges and limitations of organizations working with the target group. Ethical dilemmas in international social work with refugees and asylum-seekers are presented and analysed.

The representation of the witch in Lithuanian mythological folk narratives and beliefs and her malicious activities as well as ways of preventive protection against these malicious activities are introduced in the present article. No focus was laid on numerous diverse malicious activities of the witch which encompass various fields of human life and the considerable number of ways and measures to protect against them in folk narratives and beliefs as passed on by people so far. Important to mention that the witch of the folk tales that is different from mythological folk narratives’ one is not ascribed to the object of research; and also, the sorceresses operating in mythological folk narratives are not ascribed there – because of their functions that do not concur with the ones performed by witches. The aim is to analyse the material found in written sources about the wrecking of the folk witch and the human preventive protection measures against witch wrecking ways. The objectives of the thesis: to distinguish the preventive ways of protection from witch wrecking found in folk narratives and beliefs; to distinguish between the potential universal protection measures against witch wrecking; to assess the intensity of witch wrecking during calendar feasts and to analyse the degree of variation of typical protection measures; to assess the intensity of witch wrecking and also the need of preventive protection during family feasts. The descriptive, the comparative and the interpretative methods were employed in the study.

The article analyses axiological and hodegetic ideas by M. Pečkauskaitė-Šatrijos Ragana. Aspects of neotomistic ethics in the writer’s attitude towards human virtuousness and preparation for eschatological fulfilment are highlighted. Cultivation of virtues is revealed as an essential prerequisite to faith. Virtuousness reveals to people horizons of freeing truth and a possibility to overstep human imperfection. Love is actualised in this context as a fundamental value with eschatological continuity and remaining in the hope and perspective of divine eternity. An important role in M. Pečkauskaitė’s pedagogical concept is assigned to personal self-reflection enabling self-knowledge and an adequate evaluation of one’s actions and spiritual culture. Eschatological conception of the meaning of time, when all human attempts are directed towards eternal perspective, is presented.

In today’s productivity-oriented culture, topics related to death, illness, and loss are avoided. However, sooner or later people fall ill, die and various losses accompany everyone’s life. These experiences come together with spiritual pain, grief, tension, anxiety, fear and anger. If not addressed properly, these feelings cause physical and mental illnesses, loss of one’s identity, psychological trauma and interfere with fulfilling relationships. Spiritual health is the most important indicator of human health and the quality of life. It is also vital to the overall health of a person and is related to the essence of a human being and to what is valued and truly cherished by a particular person. This article reveals the changes in the state of a person in the presence of a disease from a psychological and theological perspective by analysing scientific literature, interpreting and systematizing information.

In the article the principles of text analysis within the limits of thematic criticism are applied to investigate Nelė Mazalaitė’s (1907–1993) novel “In the mist” (Lith. „Migloje“). The main implications of the text, related with the theme of the sea, as projected by the artificial consciousness, are observed. The leitmotif of the sea is analyzed through the most significant semantic aspects which form the structure of the imagery of the novel, plot development, style, and characters. Romantic, fairy, and musical connotations reveal the theme of the sea. The sea becomes the archetype of the beginning as life and festival and tranquility, death. The souls of characters are viewed in the light of the meanings of the sea as mist, waiting, freedom. Miscellaneous expression of the leitmotif of the sea in Nelė Mazalaitė’s novel makes it possible to speak about transcendental relationship between personality and sea, marine worldview and culture.

Author analyzed the ways of overcoming the negative tendency to the degradation of the human capital in the provincial regions of Russia and other countries of the Eastern Europe. It’s shown that the important role in the processes of solving the problem should be played by the technical universities, situated in the small towns of the region. The development of the universities should be carried on according to the specific strategy, which’s goal is a training of the qualified specialists, and to take as the students the local young people, which are going to live and get a job in the region in future. There are also presented a set of requirements for this kind of the strategy, which are based on the idea of the institutional projecting of the University Technopolis.

This article presents the aspect of the social work professionalization which responds to the new challenges of a global society that is the refugee migration. The refugee problem in the European Union has recently become one of the important social problems. Due to the political situation in Africa South European countries are already unable to manage the daily flow of refugees. EU Parliament is trying to solve this problem. Lithuania has to be ready to solve this problem as well. The country which receives refugees not only has to have the legal regulation of this process, but also the professionals who could ensure the success of their adaptation. The authors, using different empirical research materials which were conducted in Lithuania in the years 2011–2014, reveal the depth of the needs and the possibilities of the social work services while implementing these needs in the context of social services in Lithuania. This is the presentation of the experience available. This article can help you to assess the situation and the opportunities that are ahead for the Lithuanian society when helping to solve the problem of today’s refugees in the European Union. At the same time this article reveals one more aspect of the identity in the social work profession, revealing the depth of the social worker’s competencies in a changing society and his ability to operate in unspecified situations.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama progimnazijos vadovo lyderystė šio tipo mokyklos veiklos valdyme. Pristatomi interviu su progimnazijų vadovais rezultatai. Tyrimas atliktas, taikant fenomenologinės strategijos metodą, kuris padeda geriau suprasti vadovo lyderystę, siekiant progimnazijos veiklos valdymo praktikos veiksmingumo. Kokybiniame tyrime dalyvavo penki Lietuvos Vakarų regiono progimnazijų (Klaipėda, Šilutė, Kretinga, Tauragė) vadovai. Atskleisti šie esminiai lyderystės veiklos valdyme požymiai: vadovo atsakomybė ir kitų bendruomenės narių telkimas veiklos valdymui; bendruomenės narių įtraukimas į veiklos valdymą reiškiasi diskusijų, darbo grupių ir kitomis formomis; vadovų skatinami bendruomenės nariai įsitraukia į valdymo sambūrius ir veiklą; vadovai priima mokytojų iniciatyvas, dalijasi su jais lyderystės patirtimi, skatina mokytojų lyderystės įsitvirtinimą progimnazijoje. Vadovų lyderystė reiškiasi nuolatiniu pažangos ir pasiekimų stebėjimu bei vertinimu, veiklos tikslų ir rezultatų analize bei refleksija. Kaip veiksmingos išskirtos šios progimnazijos vadovų veiklos valdymo priemonės: nuolatinio įstaigos įsivertinimo ir ugdymo proceso dalyvių nuomonės tyrimų organizavimas, darbo bei ugdymo(si) sąlygų gerinimas, veiklos valdymo tobulinimas, mokytojų savišvieta, projektinė veikla, inovacijų diegimas.

We will analyse the cultural phenomenon as a product created by human genius. We will ask how works the interaction of culture and human life today and how cultural transformation influences the process of modelling perceptions of man himself. We will analyse how the cultural perception of what is “normal” or what is “value” is replaced by what is pleasant and useful. How a new concept of normality and value is created. We are creating a society on the foundation of exceptions without borders or a respectful and tolerant society?

Straipsnyje kalbama apie politiką, kaip komunikacijos lyderį. Aptariamas politiko, kaip kalbėtojo, įvaizdis televizijoje. Šiame straipsnyje politika traktuojama kaip pasitikėjimo kūrimas. Politikos neįmanoma kurti be kalbos, kuri yra jos gyvybės šaltinis. Gebėjimas pasitelkus žiniasklaidą perduoti manipuliacinius (angl. spin) pranešimus, lėmė nepasitikėjimą lyderiais. Politikai ir patys neslepia, kad naudojasi kitų žmonių sukurtomis kalbomis, vartoja specialiai jiems parinktus žodžius, tačiau politinis kalbėjimas, turint omenyje retoriką, sėkmingas bus tik tada, kai auditorija pamatys ir išgirs politiką, kuris ir savo balsu, ir išore perduos susikurtą įvaizdį. Retorika apibūdinama kaip galimybė konkrečiu atveju taikyti turimas įtikinėjimo priemones. Atlikto kokybinio tyrimo duomenys atskleidė, kad Lietuvos politikos lyderiai retorinei persvazijai (įtikinimui) pasiekti televizijos debatuose su auditorija projektuoja kalbą, kuri yra trumpa, aiški ir suprantama plačiajai auditorijai. Informantų patirtys rinkiminiuose debatuose retorikos aspektu nagrinėtos remiantis Aristotelio išskirtais trimis klasikiniais būdais (apeliacijomis): ethos, logos, pathos