Tiltai

The Venclova House-Museum is probably the most discussed museum in Lithuania today. Not only are the museum’s activities and the communication of the collection discussed, but also the general question of the need for and value of this museum. In February and March 2022, a study of the museum’s performance was carried out on the Internet. The research highlighted the main and the most debated problems relating to the communication of the museum, as well as identifying fundamental communication errors which have been made by this cultural heritage communication institution. During the research, parallels between the process of museum decolonisation (which is currently taking place in museums all over world), and the main communicational issues of the Venclova House-Museum were also identified. The study includes a semantic analysis of the museum’s performance on the Internet, a qualitative content analysis of discussions on Facebook, and semi-structured interviews with participants in the discussion.

This article highlights the need to increase the variety of support available to health-care professionals to maintain their mental health and reduce stigma. The medical profession involves caring for the well-being of others. Resources of positive emotion are exhausted over time. The body becomes susceptible to stress. The extracts from interviews and case studies presented in this article illustrate well the quality of life of medical staff in the Covid-19 period. If this state persists for a long time, it can lead to the complete exhaustion of physical and mental health, which affects a person’s motivation, attitude and behaviour towards their health, work, relationships and life. Pre-existing negative attitudes towards the promotion and improvement of mental health have had a negative impact on health and have led to suicide. It should be noted that the suicide risk rate among doctors is twice as high as in the general population. The importance of maintaining the mental hygiene of medical staff during the Covid-19 period, as a prerequisite for a quality lifestyle, is emphasised.

A number of studies confirm that working in care for the elderly is seen as very unattractive, physically and psychologically demanding, badly paid, and lacking in career opportunities. As a result, few people choose to work in this field, and there is a growing shortage of labour in the provision of services for older people. Attracting young individuals to the field is an even greater challenge. The paper analyses the results of interviews with young people who provide care services directly for the elderly. The authors seek answers to the questions, what are the personal characteristics of young people who work with the elderly, what are they looking for, and what do they find in this work? The aim of the article is to highlight positive aspects of caring for the elderly. The results show that young people (the interviewees) construct a discourse of meaningful, inspiring and motivating activities when talking about their work. This image of care presented by young workers is different to the notion of ‘dirty’ work that is often reflected in the public discourse when describing work in care institutions for the elderly. The results of the study confirm that the research participants emphasise the congruence between their care work and their personal values and experiences, and strive for a positive career identity. The use of positive experience can serve to create a more positive image of care work for the elderly.

This article presents the points of view of case managers about the possibilities of cooperating with social educators in providing assistance to adolescents who do not attend school. The article was based on an analysis of academic and normative literature, and on the findings of qualitative research conducted by the authors. The analysis of the qualitative research data highlighted the following findings: in the opinion of case managers, cooperation with social educators could be strengthened by joint meetings, workshops and joint supervisions. An algorithm of consistent cooperation was created in order to achieve changes and positive outcomes for the child’s well-being.

The article analyses the dynamics of domestic violence in the city of Klaipėda during the period from 2010 to 2020. The analysis of reported cases of violence is intended to reveal the functioning reality of the Republic of Lithuania’s Law on Protection against Domestic Violence (LPADV) adopted in 2011, and to evaluate the fact that violence, as a conditionally marginalised phenomenon for a long time, is raised to the level of an actual social problem. In evaluating the dynamics of this phenomenon over the ten-year period, the authors reject the hypothesis that cultural traditions of violence have changed over the years. During the period analysed, domestic violence has established itself as one of the most widespread violent crimes in Lithuania, overshadowing other forms of violence. The article introduces four indicators of sociological assessment, which consist of the abuser’s family situation, gender, recurrent criminality, and associations between age cohorts, in a focused manner, which reveals the social effects of the adoption of the law, demonstrating ‘the disclosure’ of the known but deliberately ‘overlooked’ reality by the LPADV. The analysis of segments of violence presented in the article suggests the development of specific measures for the prevention of domestic violence and programme strategies, because not only is the legal regulation of domestic violence significant, but so is the identification of target groups that go beyond popular stereotypes of this phenomenon.

The article analyses the situation of access to help for women who have experienced sexual abuse in the family environment, and identifies the problems they face after experiencing sexual abuse in a close relationship. The problem of violence against women in Lithuania was raised relatively recently, only after the restoration of independence. The first studies were carried out in the 1990s, but the public did not realise the extent of the problem until much later, and it was only in 2011 when the Law on Protection against Violence in a Close Environment was adopted, which was the start of systematic state support for victims of violence. It is only in recent years that we have started to talk about the problem of violence in specific groups, such as sexual violence in a close relationship. It has also been noted that one type of violence, physical violence, dominates in both research and anti-violence practice, while sexual violence is perhaps the most silent, both within the family environment and outside it. The aim of this article is to highlight the problems faced by women experiencing sexual violence in a close relationship, and the possibilities for accessing help.

The years 2007 to 2011 were years in the active formation of alcohol politics and its changes in the creation of legislation. Therefore, this article is aimed at analysing the policy changes in the field of the Lithuanian Public Health Coalition during the period under analysis. The concept of the advocative coalition model was invoked in order to conceptualise the study. A qualitative survey was chosen as a methodological basis, in compliance with the documents analysed. The results of the study reveal that in 2006 and 2007, the structuring of the public health coalition in the field of alcohol policy began, and finalised at the end of 2011. After gathering together, the Pubic Health Coalition finally took shape in the field of alcohol policy in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, a broad coalition was formed, leading to a major conflict between the Public Health Coalition and a coalition of the alcohol industry. The latter sought to liberalise alcohol advertising, and succeeded in achieving this aim at the end of 2011. Nonetheless, the Public Health Coalition achieved its aims by strengthening and mobilising a broad coalition, and employing scientific evidence to support its position, thus achieving its strategic goals in alcohol policy.

The significance and novelty of the paper is the fact that the study unveils the expression of positive emotionality in the work environment of health-care professionals, with a view to linking the phenomenon to other relevant social phenomena, such as job satisfaction and self-esteem. The article analyses the concept of positive emotionality, its significance, factors leading to the expression of positive emotionality, its relationship with activities performed with satisfaction, self-awareness and self-esteem, motivation, etc. The research shows that the expression of positive emotionality of health-care professionals increases their job satisfaction, as there is a direct correlation between the two. The expression of positive emotionality also has a beneficial impact on health-care professionals’ self-esteem. The research has verified that maturity, career success and self-esteem increase positive emotionality. Although job satisfaction among health-care professionals is moderate, the direct link between their job satisfaction and motivation shows that the more motivated the employees are, the more satisfied they are with their job, with the opportunity to work in their chosen profession, and with the performance of activities that reflect their abilities, skills and competences.

The affiliation of the family with the land, ownership rights as necessary for a sufficient means of existence on one hand, and God’s blessings on the other, is a founding triangle constituting the basic principles of every ancient society. The triangle is also described in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. For many centuries, the ‘nation-land-God’ triangle has been an undisputed foundation for the sustainability of every society. The ancient intuition foresaw the inalienable constituents of society as still being worth remembering for modern man. However, in the 21st century, all three constituents could be described and named differently. Our reflections go far beyond the ancient book (or rather, collection of 39 books) composed more than 2,000 years ago for the needs of society in Ancient Israel. The house, the household, was the key concept for both the family, posterity and economics in Biblical times, and so it is today. We tend to think that family ties and economic relationships are separate concepts, but they are made by affiliation with the land, and changes in relations between the three elements have a deep impact on the stability of the nation, with far-reaching consequences.

The Swedish Social Democratic Party has held power in Sweden most years for a whole century. For many years, it held it in coalition with other left-wing parties, proposing the general course of democratic functional socialist ideology, regular measures to strengthen the welfare state, a benevolent immigration policy, and a peaceful foreign policy, by mediating between west and east, and also north and south. Social Democrat activities were often carried out clearly and with predictability, with great hopes of counteracting future economic, social, political and cultural challenges. When too many of these challenges appeared in public and foreign policy, the ‘social democratic arsenal’ vanished, and less preventive measures appeared to counteract the cataclysms. The radical Sweden Democrats Party rushed into the political arena, and became the third party after the 2018 Riksdag election, and the second party after the 2022 Riksdag election. The Sweden Democrats proposed not only widening and deepening the welfare state’s programmes, and strengthening punishments for crime, but also a strict anti-immigration policy, primarily a racist anti-immigration policy towards newcomers from the Middle East and Africa. Other right-wing parties viewed the programme and the activities of the Sweden Democrats with reservation, but they had to form a coalition with four right-wing parties in order to win the Riksdag elections. After a right-wing victory in the 2022 election, Ulf Kristersson, the leader of the Moderates, attained the right to form a government on behalf of a coalition between the Moderates, the Sweden Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. The political situation in Sweden before and after the 2018 and 2022 Riksdag elections is presented in the article, together with the political crisis between these two elections, as well as the results of the 2018 and 2022 elections. In the article, the author uses the descriptive analytical method, together with synthesis and some evaluations of the Riksdag elections.