Klaipėdos universitetas

Hemp is a very valuable plant because each part of it can be used in many ways. It can be used to produce innovative products for building construction, chemical industry, medicine, textile production, consumption, and agriculture. In the article, the authors have aggregated the information about hemp cultivation and processing sector development in the European Union and Latvia and have described its cultivation possibilities, technological processes, and processing capabilities. The aim of the present article was to reveal the topicalities of hemp industry development in the European Union and Latvia. The tasks of the research were to present an overall description of hemp industry development trends in the European Union and to characterize hemp industry development in Latvia focusing on the national support activities and hemp cultivation and processing opportunities. The authors of the article have performed an extensive secondary data analysis to summarize the most important activities that should be done at the national scale to further enhance the development of hemp industry in Latvia.

This article aims to compare the change of living standard in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia after joining the European Union. The characteristics of living standard are analyzing before joining the EU and after 2004. It is also compared changes of living standard characteristics after the economic crisis. Indicators of living standard, such as the average monthly gross wages, consumer price index, purchasing power, unemployment rate, at-risk-of-poverty rate and others are calculated and compared. The three Baltic states are not only compared with each other, but are also analyzed in the context of the EU. Thus, it can be stated that among the three Baltic States, Estonia is distinguished by highest living standard. Although before the integration Lithuania was ahead of Latvia, but now Lithuania was lower than Latvia by particular characteristics of living standard.

The self-evaluation of health in Latvia has recently gained a special awareness, due to the financing for health being among the lowest in the European Union. Latvia has recently faced various difficulties, such as problems paying the salaries of medical personnel, and medical personnel emigrating to work in other countries.The aim of the study is to analyse the self-evaluation of health by inhabitants in the regions of Latvia.Research methods used in the preparation of this paper: the analysis of scientific publications and results of previously conducted research; the analysis of the results of a survey on household income and expenses conducted by the EU-SILC and the European Central Bank, compared with the results from other EU countries. The results of the survey are analysed using descriptive statistics indicators and cross-tabulations for the regions of Latvia. For areas, urban-rural living and ANOVA analysis of variance are used. To analyse self-evaluations by regions, the correlation of the relationship between health self-evaluation and educational level is used. The results of the analysis indicate that the situation of the regions of Latvia in the context of health self-evaluation is very different, and that there are very big demands on decision makers to find the best possible solution.

Innovation is often recognized as a vital source of competitive advantage for business. Taking into account the conditions of increasing globalization at a high level of intensity as well as a rapidly changing technological landscape and also continuous customer demands for new products and services on the modern market, it is needed to assume that businesses have to innovate in order to survive and prosper in the contemporary environment. In the context of the paper at hand the main attention is given to the analysis of the theoretical and empirical aspects of the concept of innovation. There were applied such economic science research methods as monographic, grouping, reference, generalization, graphical analysis and content analysis.

Material deprivation has recently gained prominence as a topic of debate as its proliferation is reising throughout Europe in particular in the countries hit hardest by financial and economic turbulences what leads to the gap in material deprivation levels throughout Europe. The aim of the study is to analyze material deprivation in the regions of Latvia. Research methods used in preparation of the paper: scientific publication and previous conducted research results analysis, analysis of anonimised data of EU-SILC survey results and European Central Bank conducted survey on Household income and expenses survey results, results are compared with the results of other EU countries. Survey anonimised data are analyzed using indicators of descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations for regions of Latvia, for urban-rural living and analysis of variance – ANOVA are used. The results of analysis have indicated in what situation are regions of Latvia in the context of material deprivation especially in Latgale region and what are the challenges for decision makers to deal with – more attention for several approaches in reduction of income differences in regions of Latvia.

In the excavated Padure (Beltes) hill-fort in Latvia, cultural layers from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (Stage 1), and the middle Iron Age and the Late Iron Age (Stage 2), were detected, which, besides the archaeological material typical of that period, provided abundant zooarchaeological material. This article presents the investigation data from the zooarchaeological material of both stages: the data relate to the butchering techniques used, and the identification of the composition of the faunal species. The investigation was carried out in the bioarchaeological laboratory of the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology at Klaipėda University. As is proven by the investigation, the ratio of domestic animals to hunted wildlife in the two periods compared is not identical. In the second period of habitation of the hill-fort, the number of cattle and sheep/goats decreased, while the number of swine and especially of horses increased. The article also deals with characteristics of butchering techniques of domestic animals and wildlife in both periods of the habitation of the hill-fort, and changes identified in the meat processing. In the second period, the level of processing resulted in greater amounts of meat suitable for food, due to the technical properties of the raw material and the nutritional and commodity value.

This paper discusses Bronze Age exchange contacts in Latvia. Changes in the directions of contacts and the nature of the exchange are investigated, looking back at the Neolithic for comparison, and at developments in the Early and Late Bronze Age, focussing on the routes by which bronze arrived and the mechanisms by which objects spread. In the Late Neolithic, directional commercial trade is observable, something that is no longer characteristic of the Early Bronze Age, but which appears again in the Late Bronze Age, when bronze-working centres, which had an important role in the regulation of social relations, developed along the River Daugava. During all of these periods, a prestige chain remained in existence.

During excavations at the cemetery at Zvejnieki in northern Latvia in the 1960s and 1970s, more than 300 graves were excavated. At new excavations from 2005 to 2009, a double grave was found. Burial 316, a female, had an arrangement of amber pendants from the waist to the knee, while Burial 317, a male, had some beads around the head and around the lower legs. The double grave 316–317 proved to be the most richly furnished grave in the cemetery in terms of amber pendants. It has been dated to about 4000 calibrated BC. The double grave is located in the eastern part of the cemetery, where other graves of the same age with amber objects were situated.

The site of Celmi in the parish of Užava is the first archaeological site in Latvia where a Kunda culture dwelling has been identified. The site is dated to the Middle Mesolithic (6450–6260 cal. BC), and is a site where tools were made from locally available, poor-quality flint. An analysis of the dwelling depression, and the two hearths and stake-holes associated with it, suggests that a temporary shelter was erected here during the Mesolithic. Two flint-knapping areas, as well as other activity areas, can be identified in and near the dwelling-pit. The conclusions presented in this paper are largely hypothetical, and alternative interpretations are possible.

Some of the Russian-speaking teachers in minority schools in Latvia have to teach bilingually. That is, they are required to use both Latvian and Russian within the scope of one lesson. However, due to insufficient knowledge of Latvian they often cannot do that properly. In this study I describe the strategies they use to solve this problem. Problem-oriented interviews with teachers, participant observation and personal experience were used to collect information. I have discovered five strategies for the teaching. Each strategy involves different ratio of Russian and Latvian within a lesson. Three of them also imply a significant amount of cheating and pretence. Four strategies used for document handling in Latvian were discovered as well.