Klaipėdos universitetas

Present social and personal spiritual crises make it necessary to actualize the significance of a personal return to God. The Church invites to evaluate again the importance of religious conversion in preventing various social and personal spiritual pathologies. In this context, discussion and specification of a multidimensional phenomenon of religious conversion is problematic. Following the objectives of the Church to deepen the faith and renew evangelisation, this research aims to answer the following scientific questions: what are the typical features of a religious conversion? What are the factors that can influence the dynamics of this process? What are the changes a personal religious conversion may inspire? This article presents a theoretical analysis of a phenomenon of conversion. The research has shown that personal transformation and existential fulfillment of one’s personal life is an essential meaning of a religious conversion. Religion performs a positive psychotherapeutic function, it gives a meaning to a human existence and contributes to a personal maturity, also leads to a wholesome relationship with God where the meaning of human existence is completely fulfilled. Religious conversion may be considered as one of the fundamental elements of a spiritual health within the context of the present life challenges.

In the article, the activities of presidents in the creation of welfare states are analysed. The main factors behind successful effectiveness in the creation of the welfare state are: public opinion towards the president, his/her individual philosophy, clear communication, and relations with political parties. The case of Gitanas Nausėda, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, with his vision of the creation of the welfare state as the main aim of governance and social rights, is presented in the article. The role of President Nausėda is significant because of the proposals and changes he has inititated. The president not only supports the welfare state, but also suggests concrete proposals for changes to the tax environment in the country, improving social security conditions and conditions for the disabled, enforcing equal opportunities, etc.

Social phenomena, documented in newspapers’ articles, and the publications for public enlightenment were analysed by hermeneutic – interpretative, content analysis and grounded theory methods. The components of unstable human environment were found: envy, abrogative behaviour of people with highest position in life, a lack of social confirmation, negative influence of parents, and the cruelty. Reaction to unstable surroundings was the retirement from public and civic life, the usage of alcohol and drugs abuse accompanied by violent outbreaks, and emigration. Retirement from civic life is strengthened by self – criticism, self – isolation, big sensitiveness for critics, inactivity; usage of alcohol and drugs are tied with inner emptiness, social and psychological vulnerability; real emigration linked to belief in possibility to run away from unstable and cruel surroundings.

The research focuses on evaluation of the Blue Flag programme implementation in Latvia since the year 1998, when the programme’s operations started. It includes analysis and an overview of both the national and local level impacts and the results of the programme implementation. With regard to national level, approach and experience, the overview focuses on effectiveness and the role of the Blue Flag programme as a supporting instrument for successful implementation of environmental legislation. This programme is also analysed as a communication instrument in promoting environmental policies within 500 km long of coastline areas, which in Latvia are announced the national interest territories aiming at both particular protection and also development, especially, as tourism destinations. On the municipal level, our approach and overview present analysis of the Blue Flag criteria and their implementation experience in different municipalities. Moreover, we study the overall impact of the programme on environmental performance of the municipal sector regarding coastal protection issues. The Blue Flag survey also reviews selected municipal case studies: Liepaja, Ventspils, and Saulkrasti. After reviewing the overall programme’s performance in Latvia, the study concludes with an elaborated set of multi-level suggestions on potential improvements that would strengthen the programme’s further implementation and facilitate better and wider use of its potential not only for particular designated and size limited coastal destinations as the Blue Flag beaches and marinas. The programme’s potential could also be used for voluntary and facilitated coastal governance and coastal communication within the whole municipality and eventually further afield, turning from spreading of coastal information and almost established education towards coastal participation and the whole scale pro-environmental behaviour.

The article is concerned with semantic functions of the postverb up – the second component of English verbs of the type move up, fix up, round up (Vup-s) from the point of view of changing the lexical meaning of the verb and its aspectual characteristics in terms of terminativeness / durativeness, and modes of action. Analysis and classification of Vup-s according to their lexical meaning and modes of action reveal the systemic character of the language. Vup-s are viewed as derivational units – analytic words – in the plane of word formation theory.

Šis tyrimas atskleidžia ne tik automobilių stovėjimo vietų prie daugiabučių namų pasiūlą, bet ir automobilių tankumo daugiabučių namų kiemuose skirtumus įvairiuose Klaipėdos miesto mikrorajonuose. Darbe analizuojami automobilių stovėjimo aukštelių plotai prie daugiabučių namų, nustatomas automobilių skaičius ir tankumas aikštelėse, tiriamas automobilių statymas neleistinose vietose Klaipėdos miesto mikrorajonuose. Atlikto lauko tyrimo rezultatų pagrindu siūloma įrengti naujas automobilių stovėjimo aikšteles Bandužių, Laukininkų, Alksnynės, Miško kvartalo mikrorajonuose.

This paper explores the relationship between paternal religious affiliation, practice, and health behavior, namely consumption of alcohol. This research models alcohol consumption as an aggregate sum of weekly glasses of wine, 50 ml vodka shots, half-liter bottles of beer, and cocktails. The model includes religious confession among other independent variables including self-reported health status. In confessional comparison, the largest fraction, Catholic, is the reference category opposite Orthodox, Protestant, Other non-affiliated believers and Atheist. Significantly, Other believers and Lithuanian Protestants consumed significantly more alcohol than Catholic respondents. A unit increase in prayer or religious reading did not significantly predict a change in alcohol consumption. However a unit increase in weekly work hours significantly decreases alcohol consumption in contrast to a unit increase in time spent with children. Higher consumption is associated with lower self-reported health status.

The de-institutionalisation of the last two decades brings a poignant focus on social inclusion, exclusion and how to facilitate informed lifestyle choices among people with intellectual disabilities. This study explores some of the developments and challenges in participatory inquiry involving lay experts such as people with intellectual disabilities, their advocates and service staff in sheltered occupational sites. The core outcomes in this study are the collaboration between all involved actors identifying and implementing the service improvements needed. It was concluded that an inclusive joint research methodology may be a key and fundament for the development of supporting and empowering social care practice for this said population.

Homo sapiens, as the highest biological species, develops and upgrades its ideas about the environment, and changes its behaviour to

Dviračių dalijimosi sistema (DDS) skatina Klaipėdos miesto ir priemiesčių gyventojų darnų judumą, t. y. trumpu atstumu (3–5 km) po miestą keliauti nuomotais dviračiais. Tokia nauja keliavimo tradicija, ypač šiltuoju metų laiku, skatina kasdienio judumo poreikiams naudoti dviračius kaip keliavimo lengvaisiais automobiliais alternatyvą. Straipsnyje apžvelgti kitų šalių pavyzdžiai, skatinantys po miesto teritorijas keliauti dviračiais, išanalizuotos DDS įgyvendinimo socialinės ir geografinės dimensijos Klaipėdoje. Geografiniu požiūriu vertintos keliavimo dviračiais sąlygos, dviračių infrastruktūra, takų būklė. Aptarti miesto ir priemiesčių gyventojų apklausos dėl DDS vystymo, poreikio keliauti dviračiais rezultatai. Parengtas DDS stotelių geolokacijos planas atitinka gyventojų keliavimo po miestą dviračiais poreikį, skatinant darnaus judumo principų įgyvendinimą.