Tiltai

Scientific journal Tiltai / Bridges / Brücken published by Klaipėda University (established in 1991) is devoted to the issues of social sciences, and seeking academic dialogue, also to other human and society functioning-related humanities and biomedical sciences, with expand and interpret different social phenomena and current issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. The publications attempts at analysing and solving actual problems of economy, management, demography, social geography, geopolitics, political sciences, history, education, religious, regional planning and land use, other social problems. Science has no borders. Therefore scientific cooperation is one of the most important elements in the progress of world’s community. Scientists from different countries of the world are kindly invited to write for and contribute to the journal.

The aim of the research is to evaluate the change in the psychomotor reactions of six and seven-year-old children when applying physical therapy. The research involved children at the age of six and seven years. It aimed at evaluating both the change in the speed of the psychomotor reactions of these children’s free upper limbs to light while applying physical therapy, and the change in the speed of the psychomotor reactions of free upper limbs to sound while applying physical therapy. The research sample consisted of 270 children. Methods. The research data was collected by employing a method of testing using a reactiometer. The surveyed were divided into two research groups, which underwent different programmes in physical therapy exercises twice a week for the duration of six weeks. Group 1 underwent a physical therapy exercise programme comprising introductory, main and final parts (warm-up exercises, exercises developing coordination, and relaxation exercises); Group 2 also underwent a physical therapy programme comprising introductory, main and final parts (warm-up exercises, exercises developing the coordination, and exercises developing the psychomotor reactions to light and sound as well as relaxation exercises). The research data (testing) was collected before starting applying the physical therapy programme, and six weeks later. Results. The research results revealed that the results between the groups differed. The average reaction time was shorter in Group 2, which means that the tasks were completed faster. In Group 1, the shortest reaction time was 283 ms, and the longest was 650 ms. In Group 2, the shortest reaction time was 284 ms, and the longest was 456 ms. Conclusions. When applying physical therapy jointly with purposive exercises that develop the speed of psychomotor reactions, results can be achieved over the shortest period of time substantiated in scientific papers, i.e. six weeks.

The article presents the situation of patients in Poland, based on existing data (non reactive research), and individual interviews with Patients’ Agents in the given clinic or hospital and Patient’s Ombudsmen. It presents doctor-patient relationships in the daily routine of a health centre in the context of Polish law and procedures, and highlights the role of the Patients’ Ombudsmen in creating a patient-friendly environment. Due to the large number of hospitalisations, whose duration is continually shortened because of financial limitations, ensuring the patient’s well-being is becoming increasingly difficult.

At present, the Covid-19 pandemic is controlled in many countries by the development of the vaccination and/or the natural immunity of the population. Unfortunately, Lithuania is on the list of the most affected countries in Europe and the world, taking into account the loss of population both from the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and from increased mortality from other diseases. We will probably not avoid a pandemic in the future, so it is necessary to analyse why Lithuania has been less successful than neighbouring countries in overcoming the pandemic. The aim of this study is to compare the excess mortality of the population of Lithuania and other countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, and to discuss the possible causes and consequences of the exceptionally high excess mortality of the Lithuanian population. Material and methods: analysis of indicators, comparison of data. The results of the analysis show that a number of countries (Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Malta and Germany) not only did not experience significant excess mortality, but their Covid-19 victims per one million population were also incomparably fewer than in Lithuania. In some countries (Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Denmark), life expectancy increased, suggesting that improvements in public health have been possible even during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is recommended that the experience of these countries be analysed, in order to avoid disruption to public health resulting in exceptionally high excess mortality from Covid-19 and other diseases and a decline in life expectancy.

Emotional vulnerability and how to respond to it during the Corona pandemic are the focus of this article from the field of (pastoral) psychology. It outlines strategies for the accompaniment of people in crises and ways in which they deal with crises from monitoring to blunting, from behavioural immune systems to conspiracy theories. Revisiting old patterns of behaviour combined with a narcissistic rejection of one’s own fragility, or closing oneself off in acceptance of the call of a strong leader, as well as influencing social change based on solidarity, three psychological approaches can be identified as a way out of the crisis. It becomes apparent that we are not all in the same boat; on the contrary, the inequality between an inflatable boat and a luxury yacht is becoming more distinct. However, the Christian message of the resurrection of the dead brings hope, with caution and humility. After all, even the Crucified and Resurrected One allowed himself to be identified by his wounds.

The article presents the discourse of folk medicine concepts in contexts of historicity, the social environment, and scientificity category interfaces. One of the essential features of folk medicine is its intra-disciplinary nature, necessitating basing the already-mentioned categories on a context analysis of theoretical and practical approaches to folk medicine. The article consists of four parts, which correspond to the approaches of discourse analysis on the concept of folk medicine. The first part presents the anthropological evaluation of folk medicine approaches to the social environment, historicity and scientificity. The second part highlights the context of the historicity of folk medicine, which raises the question whether folk medicine is an endangered legacy or a changing tradition? The third part analyses the expression of folk medicine in approaches to the coverage of the social environment: from village to city, from nation to humanity. The fourth part leads to an evaluation of the interfaces between folk medicine and scientificity as a problem of rationality/irrationality. In conclusion, it is emphasised that by presenting the discourse of folk medicine concepts in the already-mentioned segments (social environment, historicity, scientificity), folk medicine’s theoretical and practical expression is evaluated in contexts of today’s and past experiences.

With the changing and expanding approach to the creation of a learning environment as one of the essential factors in the quality of the organisation of the learning process, the article reveals the links that underpin the importance of an andragogue’s general competencies for the development of a transformative learning environment. The relevance of the scientific problem is highlighted by the theoretical and empirical search for the general competencies of the andragogue, which creates favourable preconditions for the transformation of the learner’s empowerment personality. The participants in the research were employees of health-care institutions in various regions of Lithuania who have participated in in-service training events at the Centre for Continuing Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Klaipėda University. The analysis of the need for health-care professionals due to the importance of an andragogue’s general competencies in creating a transformative learning environment has highlighted the direct impact of age on different needs. The results of the research show that an andragogue’s general competencies help to create a transformative learning environment, in which the totality of intellectual, emotional and practical dynamics enables the learner’s transformation, focusing on personal qualities, abilities, skills, attitudes and positive attitudes, and the development of a mindset for continuous improvement. Suggestions are provided to andragogues on how to streamline changes in adult learning that focus on personality change by creating a transformative learning environment.

This article reviews the problem of global citizenship education and foreign language teaching at pre-primary school level. The education of pre-primary school children is inseparable from knowledge of the world, communication in the mother tongue and in a foreign language, and the formation of values and patterns of social behaviour that are relevant to humanity. The pre-primary school age is the right age to encourage children to learn about their immediate environment, and to broaden their knowledge of other countries and natural and social phenomena in them. Global citizenship education should start at this age, enabling children to learn about, talk about and contribute to global issues at a local, national and global level, to engage children in social citizenship activities, and to contribute to a safe and sustainable environment. In the education of pre-primary school children, a foreign language has the function of building a social identity. The development of children’s foreign language skills in an educational institution also creates conditions for the development of children’s global citizenship. The article presents the partial results of an ethnographic study on the development of global citizenship and foreign language learning at pre-primary school level. The information obtained from the study confirms the usefulness of a foreign language for the global citizenship education of pre-primary school children. It shows that learning a foreign language helps not only to learn about world phenomena and to communicate, but also to develop global citizenship competences. Learning and using a foreign language help to share information not only about the immediate and distant environment, but also about countries and cultures of the world, it broadens the world-view of the pupils, forms positive attitudes towards other people, and strengthens the sense of community, encouraging people to work together to create a safe and sustainable environment.

This article presents the concept of China’s sharp power, and features of its formation that support it. The article deals with theoretical interpretations of soft power that are inseparable from the properties of sharp power. Soft power has been a very influential concept in recent decades to describe a country’s ability to influence others by cooperating, persuading and promoting a positive attitude in other states to achieve the desired results. Nevertheless, the concept of power has changed dramatically in recent years, due to shifts in the international system, and no longer fits definitions of the relationship between authoritarian and democratic systems. It is necessary to introduce a new concept of power, in order to expose the new world order posed by China as an emerging normative power. Authoritarian methods of influence can no longer, in principle, be described as soft power. There is a need to introduce a new term for power in academic discourse, in order to conceptualise the influence of authoritarian states on democracies. The article highlights the problem that sharp power can restrict freedom of expression and distort the political environment, by taking advantage of asymmetric levels of freedom between democratic and authoritarian systems. Having identified and clarified the terminological framework, the article presents three components of China’s sharp power, which allows for empirical research into its mechanisms for spreading influence, expanding the country’s interests abroad, and damaging democratic systems.

The article explores the dynamics of domestic violence in the city of Klaipėda over the period 2010 to 2014, with the aim of demonstrating how the Republic of Lithuania’s Law on Protection against Domestic Violence (LOPADV), passed in 2011, raised a relatively marginalised phenomenon to the level of a relevant social problem. The statistical data presented in the article call for a detailed analysis of the dynamics of the phenomenon in order to identify the social and legal causes of changes in domestic violence, and to anticipate prerequisites for strategies related to the safety of the victims of violence and the prevention of violence. The article analyses cases of violence registered with Klaipėda city’s Chief Police Commissariat, in an attempt to evaluate the social profile of domestic violence, and to highlight the essential characteristics of perpetrators and victims. By transcending the rather narrow boundaries of the psychological treatment of this phenomenon, an attempt is made to identify the most important empirical characteristics that would lead in the long run to an opportunity for the sociological interpretation of the phenomenon.