Klaipėdos universitetas

The authors analyse the empowerment of domestic violence abusers from the perspective of an intervention programme. They present the phenomenon of domestic violence in the context of complex legal assistance to a family experiencing violence, and theoretical and practical approaches to the application of behaviour-changing programmes. At the moment, the legal acts regulating the provision of such assistance in Lithuania are mainly aimed at ensuring assistance to people who have experienced violence, but the system of providing services to people subjected to violent behaviour is not established. In Lithuania, the Intervention Programme for Domestic Abusers has been approved for changing violent behaviour in the family. The programme is purposefully structured: it improves the skills of recognition of violent behaviour in the family environment by providing information on forms of violence and an analysis of violent situations, and modelling non-violent behaviour in the family. The experts who prepared the programme noted that the most important elements for its effectiveness are group work, long-term participation in the programme, the motivation of the programme leaders, and the ability to empower the individual to change his or her behaviour. The extension of the programme to institutions providing comprehensive family support services can be predictive of the effectiveness of domestic violence prevention.

The article is devoted to the anthropologically centred supervision of social field specialists. The concept of supervision is based on the patristic anthropology of the Church, which is fundamentally person-centred in any professional activity. This approach to supervision is very modern, as it resonates with the current professional paradigm shift from a profession-centred approach to a person/client-centred approach. The article presents quantitative research, with the aim of showing the expediency of person-centred supervision from the attitude of social workers. It analyses the main methodological principles of person-centred (the author uses the term ‘anthropologically centred’) supervision, and their application in supervision: 1) the concept of a person; 2) the term ‘personality development’ or personality transformation; 3) the factor of high-quality communication or reciprocity.

The early beginnings of Christian caritative social work against a Biblical and Ancient Greek background have been well explored in literature. The methodological approach, the use of theological analysis of social work approach to the client, opens the doors to the positive identification of burning issues in the practice of modern social work. The Christian world-view has always put personal responsibility and involvement on micro, mezzo and macro levels in focus, and the realisation of personal potential in social functions is revealed by the application of the Trinitarian view of God in Christianity. The theological approach to the analysis of the meaning of social work, its mission and mechanisms, focuses on the crossing of both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the Christian faith as a practice, and puts forward service to the needy and the poor, solidarity with outcasts and marginal people, support and encouragement, as following in the footsteps of Christ. By that approach, the essence of caritative social work is discovered: personal engagement versus estrangement, community resources versus individualism, mutuality versus ignorance. The innovative discourse inviting the disclosure of possible personal transformation dynamics has an impact on the positive solution of the client’s social problems within the community, especially during a humanitarian crisis. The methodological approach may also be helpful for the identification of stagnation in the social work profession.

A popular area of logistics nowadays is partial cargo transportation. During the assembly of cargo, you need accurate information about the load, and to be able to assess the dimensions, weight and space. This determines the quality of the service provided for road transport partial loads, and a high level of customer confidence. The demand for freight is high, and so is the need to improve freight transport technology and the way information is transmitted, and to find the most appropriate and fastest solutions for transporting freight. Partial loads can be used to transport small loads, resulting in faster freight movement, time savings for the customer, and better quality results in terms of work. The objective of the quantitative approach was to identify gaps in information transfer in part load companies. Improved transfer of information would lead to better targeting and faster loading. Technological improvements in logistics relating to information transfer will facilitate the work of managers and improve the quality of the part load service. A specific request form, where the customer can specify the weight, size and width of the part loads, would avoid additional questions for managers.

The article presents the results of a number of sociological studies aimed at examining the impact of the war on social cohesion, civic activism, and the consolidation of efforts in multinational communities in Ukraine. The research covered important issues of interethnic interaction and consolidation of the multicultural Melitopol community, and the expansion of effective channels of mutual assistance for members of ethnic communities in the context of the Russian aggression and temporary occupation, as well as an assessment of factors that may affect conflicts in communities during the war. As part of the study ‘Ethnic Communities and Commonality: The Key to Civic Engagement and Trust’, three focus group discussions were held, with a total of 72 participants; and a questionnaire survey was conducted with 1,500 respondents, representatives of ethnic communities in Melitopol, who found themselves in difficult living conditions caused by the war and at the time of the survey either remained in the occupied territories, moved to the government-controlled territory, or went abroad. The following respondent groups provided answers to the question about factors of the influence of the war and territorial community cohesion: members of ethnic communities of the Melitopol region who remained in the occupied territory; those who moved to the territory controlled by Ukraine (IDPs); those who moved abroad (forced migrants) named the main problems of interethnic understanding, as the study emphasises the importance of interethnic understanding and demonstrates the urgency of addressing issues related to the living conditions of Ukrainian citizens in multinational communities during the war and the postwar future. The findings require close attention and responses from both the government and civil society, in order to ensure positive community development, and to preserve social harmony in the postwar period.

In an age of scientific and technical innovation, with the rapid development of digital technologies, the promotion of physical activity among adults becomes relevant, as it is irreplaceably important to strengthen their overall health. The article reveals the attitude of health-care specialists to the importance of promoting physical activity in adults, needs, reasons for choice, conditioning factors, ways and means of promoting physical activity in adults, the possibilities for its increase and development, and the importance of the professionalism of health-care specialists in promoting physical activity in adults. The research confirmed the validity of theoretical approaches and empirical strategy from the point of view of health-care specialists, the importance of the promotion of physical activity for adults’ physical and mental health, a harmonious personality, quality of life, and social and economic well-being. Adults’ physical activity is determined by various mutually influencing factors, emphasising the possibilities of promoting physical activity for strengthening their health, empowering personal potential, focusing on the individuality of the person, applying andragogic access, learning from experience, etc.

As researchers have different opinions about the most important factors in the formation of the reading process, including the effects of animal-assisted activities on reading, a study was conducted, of which the purpose was to compare the effects of different types of reading skills improvement activities on the reading motivation and word decoding skills of second-grade students. The following research tasks were formulated: 1) to develop methods adapted to Additional Reading and Reading with an Animal groups; 2) to compare the results of word decoding abilities and the reading motivation of three groups (I experimental, II experimental, and III control), obtained before and after the intervention; 3) to compare changes in the results of the I experimental, II experimental and III control groups obtained after the experiment. A real experiment was chosen as the research method, consisting of two experimental groups (group I participants read texts for the researcher, group II read texts for dog-assisting interventions), and the control group (with whom no additional activities were performed). The results of the study showed that when comparing the results of each group before and after the intervention, word decoding skills, internal and external motivation, and negative attitudes, in terms of reading, did not change significantly. When comparing the changes in the results of all three groups obtained after reading activities, it was observed that the participants in the experimental group II had a greater positive change in the decoding ability of non-meaningful words, while the participants in the experimental group I were distinguished by a greater negative change in the decoding ability of non-meaningful words than the rest of the participants in the study. The participants in the experimental group II, after reading activities, were distinguished by a significant increase in respect of external motivation: social (reading-related) behaviour, and the participants in the control group were distinguished by a significantly weakened social (reading-related) behaviour compared to the rest of the participants in the study. The participants in all three groups were distinguished by a positive change in the decoding ability of meaningful words after the intervention, but this difference was not significant. Although in this study reading for dog activities do not show significant changes in the motivation or negative attitudes towards reading, they had a positive effect on reading motivation.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that affects progress. Children with ASD often experience motor skill impairments. The ‘Animal Fun’ programme aims to develop motor, cognitive and social skills in children aged three to six. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the ‘Animal Fun’ programme on physical and functional changes in a seven-year-old child with autism spectrum disorder. During the study, there were three assessments. Test I was conducted before the intervention, test II was performed after five weeks, and test III was carried out after ten weeks of ‘Animal Fun’ intervention. The study assessed static and dynamic balance, the strength of the grip, core and lower limb muscles, and psychomotor reaction speed. It was found that the ‘Animal Fun’ programme improved results in static and dynamic balance, and abdominal and lower limb muscle strength.

Although there is a growing body of evidence showing the potential of animal-assisted (AAT) therapy use with various populations, there is still a limited amount of such studies in Lithuania. This article continues the construction of the scientific discourse of animal-assisted therapy in Lithuania. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of animal-assisted therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders. The study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of animal-assisted therapy not only from the therapist’s viewpoint but also from the parents’ perspective. Specific objectives included: 1) to evaluate parents’ perception of their children’s performance and satisfaction level in the areas selected by parents of self-care, productivity and leisure before and after animal-assisted therapy sessions; 2) to measure the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy sessions in language/communication, sociability, sensory/cognitive awareness, and health/behaviour perceived by the parents; 3) to evaluate and compare parents’ perceived behavioural-emotional difficulties before and after animal-assisted therapy sessions; and 4) to monitor and compare behavioural changes in children during and after animal-assisted therapy sessions .The sample consisted of nine children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The results from two measurement methods provide support for the efficacy of animal-assisted therapy. The average scores of performance and satisfaction in targeted problem areas are higher in both groups of participants after animal-assisted therapy sessions as indicated by the parents. The parents of all participants indicated lower scores in speech/language, sociability, sensory/cognitive awareness and healthy/physical behaviour, which indicate fewer problems in these areas. Parents evaluate children’s aggressive behaviour and externalising problems as significantly lower after animal-assisted therapy sessions. The scores of emotional problem scales are slightly higher after therapy, but the difference is not statistically significant. Parents tend to notice changes in behavioural problems more than emotional. The behavioural changes monitored by therapists varied in each session. The monitoring of behavioural changes in each session cannot indicate stable qualitative growth or decline as the results are sensitive to the inner states of children. Change of behaviour scores in each session showed that animal-assisted therapy sessions were beneficial to older as well as to younger participants.

Data suggests an increasing trend in the detection of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in our country and abroad. Families raising children with this multifaceted, lifelong disorder face significant challenges in communication breakdown and maintaining social relationships, which make it difficult for ASD individuals and their families to successfully function and thrive in society. This article presents mothers’ experiences and sources of stress. A qualitative research approach was adopted to show the subjects’ experiences. Data was collected using focus groups, with open-ended, non-restrictive responses to questions according to the researcher’s intended areas of assessment. The results show a number of generalised semantic spaces related to the child’s own appearance and behaviour, fear of the future and the internalisation of negative attitudes, as well as to the challenges of social services and infrastructure and mothers’ professional activities.