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This chapter provides the historical background necessary to understand the book’s empirical analysis. It discusses the political decisions that led to the displacement of Germans and Poles at the end of WWII and challenges the assumption that uprooted communities were internally homogeneous. It then zooms in on the process of uprooting and resettlement and introduces data on the size and heterogeneity of the migrant population in postwar Poland and West Germany.
Our article describes the lifecycle of Lithuania’s Electoral Action of Poles–Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS) party that has been a part of country’s political landscape for near 30 years. Despite its seemingly ethnic program, the party has a poor track record for delivering on its electoral promises. Yet, it has been continuously supported by the majority of Polish-speakers in Lithuania. The background of the nationalizing state, which encourages the party elites to conflate substantive representation with the signposting of ethnic identity in party politics, offers one of the reasons for the LLRA-KŠS’s electoral success. Although the party effectively consolidated its regional electorate, it came to control service delivery to their ethnic constituency by engaging in pork barrel politics. Poor performance in recent national and municipal elections put this strategy to bond with its voters into question, casting doubt on the LLRA-KŠS’s ability to survive as an ethnic party in the long term.
This study presents new (n=32) and previously published (n=35) human bone 14C AMS dates from 54 individuals interred in 50 burials in the Plinkaigalis cemetery (3rd–7th century AD, Lithuania). The aim of this study is to establish duration of use and identify temporal subgroups within the cemetery. Individuals in group burials were assessed for temporal agreement across individuals and the dates for individuals with multiple dates were combined using OxCal. The Sum command, Interval command, and two Bayesian models (overlapping and abutting periods of use) were used to approximate the use of the site over time and evaluate the chronology of dated burials. An IDW (inverse distance weighted) model was employed to visualize median radiocarbon dates across the cemetery for comparison to earlier IDW interpolations of time at Plinkaigalis. While the two models cannot be distinguished at this time, it can be determined that the site was likely in continuous use from 200–600 cal AD (Sum), 230–560 cal AD (Model 1), 220–550 cal AD (Model 2), or cal 283–508 AD (IDW). The area of the cemetery associated with earliest use shifted east when the IDW model was compared to original data. There was also poor agreement in some group burials and burials with multiple dates. The models generally agree on assignment of burials to phases, but disparate phase assignment was noted across the IDW and Bayesian models. Temporal subgroups cannot be confidently reclassified beyond early/later periods of use based on these models without additional sampling and refinement of the IDW modeling method.
Although in all of the EU member states, law enforcement institutions have to adhere to European standards of facial recognition technology (FRT) usage, each country has local national standards that transpose these requirements into the framework of FRT in practice. However, recognising that each society has an important role in controlling the implementation of legal acts, especially where they relate to human rights, society and related interest groups have to regard the proper implementation of FRT regulation as necessary; otherwise it remains declarative and void. If public awareness and pressure to have a law implemented properly are high, the implementing institutions are forced to take action.
This chapter analyses the regulation of FRT usage by Lithuanian law enforcement institutions. Public discussion relating to FRT usage in the media, the involvement of non-governmental organisations, and other types of social control are also discussed. Finally, the chapter considers the changes that may be brought to national regulation of FRT by the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.
Lithuania is a high-income country. Trade in goods and services contribute about three quarters of Lithuanian GDP; industry contributes 26 percent; and agriculture three percent. The university sector consists of 14 public and 8 private universities that offer Bachelor’s degrees and higher. There are 13 public and 11 private colleges that award Professional Bachelor’s degrees. There are about 150,000 students enrolled. The University Council is a governance body of a university. The University Council should consist of 9 or 11 members. One member is nominated by students. Three or four members of the Council are nominated by the academic staff. Four or five members who are not affiliated with the university are selected in the procedure laid down by the Senate. The remaining three or four members are selected through an open competition.
The chapter describes the main nature conservation challenges in Lithuania, its main policy responses and actions, and their achievements and lessons, primarily over the last 40 years. This covers the country’s natural characteristics, habitats and species of particular importance; the status of nature and main pressures affecting it; nature conservation policies (including biodiversity strategies), legislation, governance and key actors; species measures (e.g. Species Conservation Plans and Species Action Plans); protected areas and networks; general conservation measures (e.g. development planning, and forest management); nature conservation costs, economic benefits and funding sources; and biodiversity monitoring. Likely future developments are also identified. Conclusions are drawn on what measures have been most effective and why, and what is needed to improve the implementation of existing measures and achieve future nature conservation goals.
A set (n = 37) of new human bone radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (14C AMS) dates from 11 Lithuanian Late Roman Period–Migration Period cemeteries is presented and discussed in the light of the established schemes of archaeological chronology. The focus of the paper is on the burials of the military and social elite, which indicate the emergence of new cultural traditions in E–S and W–Central Lithuania or the immigration that took place during this time. The 14C dates allow us to suggest corrections to the dominant chronological pattern of cultural development in the region.
To assess the opinions of physicians working in family physician teams regarding COVID-19 (threat perception, overall work satisfaction, patient satisfaction with services provided, patient access to services, and the need for new tools for service provision).
Methods:
An anonymous survey of physicians (N = 191) working in family physician teams. Questionnaires were distributed among family physicians with the permission of the managers of their institutions and were collected by the lead researcher within 1–8 weeks. The quantitative study was conducted from 21 June 2021 to 17 September 2021. In total, 398 questionnaires were distributed, yielding a response rate of 48%, or 9% of the total population. Thirty-nine primary health care institutions (PHCIs) were randomly selected for the study: 11 public and 28 private.
Findings:
Older respondents and those with more years of work experience strongly agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic threatened their lives and safety, as well as that of their colleagues. Work satisfaction decreased during the pandemic among older respondents, those with more years of work experience, and those who had been employed at their current institution for longer. Respondents with more work experience believed that patient satisfaction with the services provided by their family medical institution decreased. Older respondents with more work experience asserted that patient access to services decreased during the pandemic. Physicians working further away from urban centers indicated a greater need for new tools in the effort to provide consultations compared to city-based physicians.
Conclusions:
The current health care crisis prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is defined by the perception of threats to life and safety among physicians, an overall drop in their work satisfaction, decreased patient satisfaction with services provided, reduced patient access to services, and a greater need for new tools for providing consultations.
Cross-cultural studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD) based on ICD-11 diagnostic criteria are scarce, especially in adolescence. The study aimed to evaluate the trauma exposure, prevalence and factors associated with PTSD and CPTSD in general populations of adolescents in Lithuania and Japan.
Methods
The study sample comprised 1746 adolescents from Lithuania (n = 832) and Japan (n = 914), 49.8% female. The mean age of study participants was 15.52 (s.d. = 1.64), ranging from 12 to 18 years. ICD-11 posttraumatic disorders were assessed using the International Trauma Questionnaire – Child and Adolescent version (ITQ-CA).
Results
More than half of the adolescents in a total sample (61.5%) reported exposure to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, 80.0% in Lithuania and 44.6% in Japan, with a higher prevalence of interpersonal trauma in Lithuania and more natural disaster exposure in Japan. The prevalence of PTSD was 5.2% (95% CI 3.8–6.9%) and 2.3% (95% CI 1.4–3.5%), CPTSD 12.3% (95% CI 10.1–14.7%) and 4.1% (95% CI 2.9–5.5%) in Lithuanian and Japanese samples, respectively. Cumulative trauma exposure, female gender, loneliness and financial difficulties in family predicted both PTSD and CPTSD in the total sample. Loneliness discriminated CPTSD v. PTSD in both Lithuanian and Japanese samples.
Conclusions
This cross-cultural study is among the first which reported different patterns of trauma exposure in Asian Japanese and Lithuanian adolescents in Europe. Despite differences in trauma exposure and PTSD/CPTSD prevalence, we found similar predictors in both studies, particularly the importance of cumulative trauma exposure for PTSD/CPTSD, and social interpersonal factors for the risk of CPTSD. The study supports the universality of traumatic stress reactions to adverse life experiences in adolescence across cultures and regions and highlights different levels of traumatisation of adolescents in various countries.
In this study we present new carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope data of human (n=13) and animal (n=40) bone and/or dentine collagen samples, alongside accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dates of human remains (n=16). The studied material was sampled from Lithuanian sites dating from the Late Mesolithic to the pre-Roman Iron Age. For the first time, we present δ13C and δ15N data from Lithuanian freshwater fish as well as AMS 14C, δ13C, and δ15N measurements of human remains from six disturbed graves at the Donkalnis cemetery and from two pre-Roman Iron Age graves. According to the new results, human diet derived protein from the Late Mesolithic to Subneolithic (ca. 7000–2900 cal BC) was primarily based on freshwater fish. While previous macrobotanical and stable isotope studies has suggested that C4 plants, i.e., millet, became more widely used from the Late Bronze Age (1100–500 cal BC), our data suggests that millet consumption may have decreased during the pre-Roman Iron Age (500–1 cal BC) in the southeastern Baltic.
Despite the growing body of evidence suggesting that alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of and poorer treatment outcomes from pneumonia, little is known about the association between alcohol control policy and pneumonia mortality. As such, this study aimed to assess the impact of three alcohol control policies legislated in 2008, 2017 and 2018 in Lithuania on sex-specific pneumonia mortality rates among individuals 15+ years of age. An interrupted time-series analysis using a generalised additive mixed model was performed for each policy. Of the three policies, only the 2008 policy resulted in a significant slope change (i.e. decline) in pneumonia mortality rates among males; no significant slope change was observed among females. The low R2 values for all sex-specific models suggest that other external factors are likely also influencing the sex-specific pneumonia mortality rates in Lithuania. Overall, the findings from this study suggest alcohol control policy's targeting affordability may be an effective way to reduce pneumonia mortality rates, among males in particular. However, further research is needed to fully explore their impact.
This section presents a detailed overview of soft-sediment deformation structures of possibly seismic origin in the Eastern Baltic Region. Recent studies of soft-sediment deformation structures discovered in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and the Kaliningrad District of Russia demonstrated that their formation could have been caused by fluidization and liquefaction of sediments possibly triggered by palaeoearthquakes; thus, they could be interpreted as seismites. An identification of corresponding seismogenic faults is complicated though due to the rather small scale of the tectonic dislocations in the intracratonic area with up to 2.5-km thick Phanerozoic sedimentary cover. Nevertheless, a part of soft-sediment deformation structures can be interpreted as seismites and attributed to the seismic events triggered by glacial isostatic adjustment of the lithosphere during the Last (Weichselian) glacial advance and subsequent deglaciation.
The emergence and widespread distribution of eye fibulae as adornment objects, from the northern provinces of the Roman Empire to northeastern Europe and Scandinavia, as well as their typology have been widely explored. Currently in Lithuania, a total of 209 eye fibulae dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries are known. The geographical distribution, typology and chronology of these Early Roman Period jewelry artifacts do not present any problem. However, the technology of manufacture of these fibulae has been much less studied. The present article analyzes the technology of manufacture of Prussian series eye fibulae, including the previously unknown specific manufacturing techniques, such as the use of wooden axes to modify the construction of the fibula and make it more durable and long lasting. Radiocarbon (14C) dating has unambiguously confirmed that the wooden axes are contemporaneous with the time of the use of the fibulae, while observation under the scanning electron microscope has identified wood species used for making the wooden axes. The X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) analysis was used to determine the copper alloys, of which eye fibulae were made. The manufacturing technologies of eye fibulae (forging and casting) are discussed in the context of analytical and experimental studies.
A competitive advantage in health care institutions can be cultivated by marketing activities and value creation for patients with chronic diseases in primary health care. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major challenge in primary health care, as managing risk factors and managing patient knowledge can help to prevent a number of major of complications. This study reveals the expectations and attitudes of patients with T2DM regarding marketing mix elements in the management of their condition.
Aim of the study:
To explore the perspectives of patients with T2DM on marketing mix elements in the primary health care institutions of Lithuania.
Materials and methods:
The design of the national study was based on a survey of patients with T2DM that was conducted after consultation with a family physician in primary health care institutions in Lithuania. The survey was conducted from October 2017 to January 2018, and involved 510 patients with T2DM. Data analysis included factor analysis and linear logistic regression. A hypothetical model was built, defining the relationships between marketing mix elements and both perceived value (emotional, functional, and social) and satisfaction with primary health care services.
Results:
The marketing mix element of ‘Service’ is statistically significantly dependent on the gender of the respondents, and is expressed more frequently by women (rcr = 0.118, P = 0.007). The occupation of respondents with T2DM (rcr = 0.151, P = 0.009) and affiliation to primary health care institution (rcr = 0.091, P = 0.040) statistically positively affect the marketing mix element of ‘Price’. The marketing mix elements of ‘Promotion’ and ‘People’ do not statistically significantly depend on the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. Only a weak correlation between the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents and the marketing element of ‘Place’ was found. The ‘Process’ element is statistically significantly more relevant to patients with an average monthly income of €350 (rcr = 0.104, P = 0.019). The element of ‘Physical evidence’ is more statistically significantly related to respondents with an average monthly income of €350 (rcr = 0.092, P = 0.038).
Conclusions:
Marketing mix analysis provides information about patients’ expectations of primary health care services and identifies areas of improvement for the health services provided by primary health care institutions. The competitiveness of primary health care services is strengthened by enhancing value for patients, by using elements of the health care marketing, and by increasing patient satisfaction.
This article analyzes how institutions influence the process of identity formation within the Polish minority communities in Belarus and Lithuania. We focus on ways that the identities of people who consider themselves Poles in Belarus and Lithuania are targeted by institutions like the state, schools, and nongovernmental organizations. We aim to shed light on how these processes are shaped by institutional settings and broader political contexts. The authors take a bottom-up approach to institutions and look at how members of the Polish communities in the two neighboring countries conceptualize the role of various institutions—NGOs, schools, Karta Polaka (the Polish Card)—to shape their sense of ethnic belonging. The article is built on a cross-case analysis. Data for the Lithuanian and Belarusian cases, consisting of interviews and secondary sources, were collected independently and then reread in light of a common research question. Through our analysis, we show differences and similarities in how analogous institutions function on the two sides of the border and elaborate on the reasons why these differences occur and what role state policy and supranational regulations play in the process.
More than 70 logboats are known in Lithuania and about half of them date before 1800 cal AD. This paper reviews these more ancient logboats, which were discovered in the beds of former or still existing lakes and rivers and present new radiocarbon (14C) dates and wood taxa identifications. Special attention is paid to the logboat found at Šventoji 58, which is at present the oldest 14C-dated (2895–2640 cal BC) logboat found East of the Baltic Sea. Most logboats from the pre-1800s period were 14C dated to medieval and early modern periods and they were made out of pine and oak wood. From a very scarce dataset available it seems that oak wood was introduced into logboat building by Neolithic people, who also brought new technologies in stone tool production. We also noted that 14C dating does not confirm the logboat typology suggested in earlier studies.
Ageing of society and long-term care (LTC) for the elderly are becoming hot topics on most European countries’ social and economic policy agendas. Increasing demand for the financing of LTC raises the necessity for a search for social policy alternatives without further increasing pressure on national budgets. The social investment approach is seen as an argument in favour of interpreting social expenditure as a ‘productive factor’ (ILO. (2005). Social protection as a productive factor. GB.294/ESP/4. Geneva, p. 2). This approach to welfare systems argues that social expenditure might be seen as investment that produces economic and social returns in time. The perception of what social investment is in relation to the LTC for the elderly is not clear either in public or academic discussion. In responding to this lacuna, this article analyses the views of LTC stakeholders in Lithuania concerning: the system and its challenges; what factors they consider as most significant to successful LTC policies and their implementation; and how the concept of social investment should be understood.
Using an interpretative comparison in search for cross-case similarities and differences, we examine the evolution of equity of access to healthcare during the economic crisis in two potentially vulnerable Eastern and Southern European countries – Lithuania and Spain. While the type of healthcare system may have shown higher resilience, i.e. equity of access to care during the crisis should have been affected more in Lithuania – a relatively immature health insurance system – than in Spain – a consolidated national health service, the intensity and length of the crisis and types of adjustment measures undertaken may have led, in turn, to different results in terms of equity of access. The analysis focuses on the respective institutional designs and healthcare reforms under austerity as well as subjective and objective indicators of access to care. We conclude that the Lithuanian healthcare system, despite potential comparative disadvantage, has shown greater performance than the Spanish one during the crisis.
Using individual-level data from three Lithuanian legislative elections (2008, 2012, 2016), this article investigates voter bias in an open-list proportional representation system in which parties rank candidates but voters are able to fully influence the rank order through preferential voting. This study examines the average effects of and variation in gender bias among voters of different parties. Most importantly, it also investigates how party cues interact with gender cues—that is, whether discriminatory tendencies vary by a candidate's party-determined viability. After establishing that there is no evidence of elite bias in favor of or against women candidates, with the exception of the Social Democrats and a few other parties, I demonstrate that, on average, female Lithuanian politicians receive approximately 7% fewer preferential votes than their male counterparts. In addition, the models predict that gender bias is most pronounced against the female candidates who are best placed to enter parliament. Finally, I demonstrate that Social Democratic voters are, on average, the most undisposed toward female candidates, correcting for positive elite bias toward female candidates from the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, while voters of the Homeland Union party (conservatives) strongly prefer women politicians.
This article explores discursive construction of legitimating identity(-ies) of the state within official institutional and semipublic social discourses on the national flag in post-1990 Lithuania. By doing so, it contributes to the continuous discussion regarding the puzzling coexistence of a relatively stable democratic regime and a limited degree of social and ethnic unrest with signs of political alienation in Lithuania. It argues that an empirical approach to legitimacy studies paired with research on national symbols and discourse analysis can contribute to a better understanding of this problem. The article concludes that the most prominent legitimating identity of the state coming forth in the official discourse is that of the state as an object of love and respect. This view is both shared and challenged within the semipublic discourse—especially regarding issues of instrumental performance of the state as well as the ability to accommodate both the initiative and autonomy of its people within political affairs.