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Every enterprise seeks to determine as accurately as possible the cost of the products or services it produces. The allocation of indirect costs causes considerable difficulties in this process. In the search for the most accurate alternatives for allocating indirect costs, the Activity Based Costing (ABC) method has become more popular in recent decades and is increasingly used by companies. The ABC method has many advantages, but it also has disadvantages, which have led to further development of the method by proposing newer versions. These include Fuzzy Activity Based Costing (FABC), which reduces the risk of uncertainty in data collection conditions and inaccurate cost allocation. However, while the literature provides a theoretical model of the FABC approach, there is very little research focused on sector-specific companies. Given that the issue of indirect cost allocation is particularly relevant for manufacturing companies, this paper explores the possibilities of applying the FABC method in manufacturing companies, using the example of a paper and cardboard manufacturing company. The aim of the research: after revealing the principles of ABC and FABC implementation, to improve the indirect cost allocation process in a paper and cardboard manufacturing company using the FABC method. The methods used for the study were document analysis, observation, conversation, interview, and fuzzy set analysis. The results showed that the FABC method has lower cost drivers for some activities and higher cost drivers for others than the ABC method. The improvement path developed for the allocation of indirect costs using the FABC approach could serve as a good model for its implementation in other manufacturing sectors.

In 2021, there are reportedly 2,755 billionaires on Earth, with an estimated total net worth of $13.1 trillion. Every year the newspaper Forbes conducts the list of World Billionaires, but we need to acknowledge that, not all billionaires and their wealth gets reported. Usually, the net worth is reported by calculating the number of stocks with the number of shares that the person owns. We take into consideration that the number we see in the newspaper exists only on paper, but the amount of money in the bank account of Billionaire does, not reflect that kind of wealth in any shape and form. Paper wealth differs from “real” or actual wealth, which is the value of the physical assets that are at the disposal of an individual or company. Many individuals and corporations fall victim to the paper wealth trap. On paper, it looks as though the assets logged are worth a certain amount, but the real assets in hand do not add up to the same. In order to assess, the real wealth individual has to realize the asset in the market by selling the asset mentioned below. If the taxpayer sells these assets, it has accumulated capital gains, then the taxpayer is subject to capital gains taxes. By using the tax planning strategy “Buy, Borrow, and Die” the wealthy individual avoids paying the capital gain tax on the assets that they have. This principle suggests buying and holding assets as they appreciate tax-free, as well borrow using the assets as leverage and using debt to reduce or eliminate income and estate taxes, and maximize aftertax wealth accumulation, as well after the taxpayer pass away the heirs, sell the whole wealth is tax-free, and the debt is paid with the tax-free proceeds.

Simonas Vainbergas, a teacher of Jewish primary schools in prewar Lithuania (1894?), was one of few his colleagues that actively collaborated with Lithuanian pedagogical journals. He published in them 11 papers in didactics of mathematics about teaching mathematics at primary schools. The said papers helped young teachers of primary schools to improve their qualification. There is a great probability that S. Vainbergas was a victim of holocaust.

Traditionally legal discourse has been perceived as an area of human activity where every attempt is made to speak or write precisely, clearly and unambiguously—i.e. no room is left for figurative language. In this context the use of metaphor is naturally unacceptable. With the change in the approach to metaphor as a mental phenome­non, rather than a language phenomenon or a means of embellishing the text, the study of metaphor in various types of discourse has received a new impetus. This ar­ticle addresses the issue of conceptual metaphor translation in the legal discourse of EU White Papers. Metaphorical expressions are categorized into cognitive domains such as dealing with a problem is war, a problem is an enemy, responsibility is a burden, pro­gress is a motion forward, etc. The analysis confirms the hypothesis that if metaphorical expressions exploit the same cognitive domain both in English and Lithuanian, me­taphoricity is fully preserved in translation. Where cognitive domains differ, metap­horicity manifests itself in a different domain or is lost altogether.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the online data collection method to survey adolescents about their psychological characteristics in a follow up-longitudinal study on positive youth development in order to test the psychometric equivalence of two assessment methods. 1030 participants (17–19 years old) completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires in schools (505 boys and 525 girls), 132 (28 boys and 104 girls) completed Internet-based questionnaires, and 47 (15 boys 32 girls) completed both, measuring positive development indicators. The findings suggest that adolescents report less socially desirable behaviour and active citizenship in Internet-based questionnaires, but generally Internet-based administration does not have any differences in the means values of positive development indicators as compared to paper-and-pencil administration. Internet-based questionnaires have higher or similar internal consistencies as compared with paper-and-pencil questionnaires and are highly correlated with each other when administered using Internet-based and paper-and-pencil assessment. There is no interaction effect of the Internet versus paper-and-pencil assessment and the sex of adolescents on the positive development indicators. Limitations of this study are discussed. Key words: Internet-based assessment, paper-and-pencil self-administered assessment, positive development indicators, adolescents. POZITYVIOS RAIDOS INDIKATORIŲ, VERTINTŲ NAUDOJANT INTERNETINĘ APKLAUSĄ IR SPAUSDINTUS KLAUSIMYNUS, PALYGINIMAS PAAUGLIŲ IMTYJE Rimantas Vosylis, Rita Žukauskienė, Oksana Malinauskienė Santrauka Internetinių klausimynų naudojimas tampa vis populiaresnė duomenų rinkimo priemonė, nes taip mažinamos tyrimo sąnaudos, tyrėjai gali susisiekti su sunkiau pasiekiamais tiriamaisiais. Tai labai patogu atliekant tęstinius, ypač jaunimo raidos, tyrimus, nes, baigę mokyklą, daug mokinių keičia savo gyvenamąją vietą, kai kurie jų išvyksta į užsienį. Tačiau interne­tinių apklausų taikymas, be minėtų pranašumų, turi ir trūkumų, į kuriuos būtina atsižvelgti. Pavyzdžiui, rezultatų, gautų taikant internetinius ir spausdintus klausimynus, derinimas, ir klausimyno formos po­veikis tyrimui naudojamų skalių psichometriniams rodikliams. Šio tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti internetinės apklausos metodo tinkamumą paauglių psichologinėms charak­teristikoms vertinti naudojant apklausą internetu ir palyginti dviejų klausimyno administravimo formų – elektroninės ir spausdintos – įtaką pozityvios jaunimo raidos rodikliams tęstiniame pozityvios jaunimo raidos tyrime. Tyrimo metu 1 030 dalyvių (17–19 metų), 505 berniukai ir 525 mergaitės, užpildė spaus­dintus klausimynus mokyklose, 132 (28 berniukai ir 104 mergaitės) užpildė tik internetinį klausimyno variantą, o 47 (15 berniukų ir 32 mergaitės) užpildė abi klausimyno versijas. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, jog paaugliai, ap­klausti internetinės apklausos būdu, nurodė mažiau socialiai pageidaujamo elgesio, bet apskritai inter­netinis apklausos būdas neturėjo poveikio pozityvios jaunimo raidos indikatorių vidurkiams, palyginti su tradiciniais, spausdintais, klausimynais. Internetinių klausimynų skalių vidinis suderinamumas, lyginant jį su spausdintų klausimynų skalių vidiniu suderinamu­mu, buvo geresnis arba panašus ir pozityvios raidos rodikliai, įvertinti abejomis klausimyno versijomis, buvo stipriai tarpusavyje susiję. Nerasta lyties ir klausimyno tipo sąveikos efekto, susijusio su paauglių pozityvios raidos vertinimu. Straipsnyje aptariami ir tyrimo ribotumai. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: internetinis anketavimas, tyrimas naudojant spausdintinę klausimynų versiją, pozityvios raidos indikatoriai, paauglystė.

The paper explores state sovereignty by developing a systematic framework for categorising states based on their sovereignty status. At the heart of our analysis lies the distinction between sovereign states and satellite states – a distinction that has significant implications for global security, stability, and the balance of power. While sovereign states exercise full autonomy and control over their affairs, satellite states often find themselves in a subordinate position, heavily influenced or even dominated by external powers. A theoretical framework deconstructs the concept of sovereignty into four crucial elements: authority, legitimacy, independence, and territoriality, which provide a structured assessment of the level of sovereignty in a state and serve as the basis for our analysis. To illustrate the application of our framework, we adopt a case study approach focused on Belarus. As a nation situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe with a history marked by geopolitical contestation and strategic manoeuvring, Belarus provides a compelling context for examining sovereignty dynamics. Through a systematic analysis of Belarus’ political, economic, and military landscape, we seek to assess its sovereignty status within the framework of our analysis. While the topic of Belarus’ sovereignty and integration within Russia has been extensively explored over the years, the innovative contribution of this paper lies in purposefully designed methodology for sovereignty assessment and the use of the latest empirical data while practically applying the model for the case of Belarus.

From current cognitive science, some theories propose that the human mind includes two systems: a system leading quick intuitions and a system ruling slow logical reasoning. Given that the systems are in the mind, one might think that their existence is difficult to check. This paper presents a way to gradually confirm the hypothesis about the two systems. It adopts the conception of the two systems as presented by the theory of mental models. Moreover, following Carnap’s proposal of reduction, the paper describes two procedures to incrementally confirm the hypothesis. One of them investigates human performance at inferences in the form of Modus Tollendo Tollens. The other one investigates inferences from an exclusive disjunction having three disjuncts.

The paper explores the relation between a contemporary Aristotelian conception of human flourishing and two critical perspectives on work. The meaningful work perspective inquires what kind of work would be meaningful, by arguing that meaningful work is essential for human flourishing. The post-work perspective argues that good life lies outside work and workplaces and calls to eliminate work as much as possible. The paper suggests that it is possible to acknowledge the insights of both perspectives via contemporary Aristotelian notions of practice and human flourishing. The notion of practice incorporates the conception of meaningful work, yet it applies to nonwork activities as well. Conceptualization of human well-being via the notion of practice also responds to the post-work challenge of conceiving human flourishing without prioritizing work over other meaningful activities. In this way, a contemporary Aristotelian conception of human flourishing supports both the need for better work and less work.

Although there were many disagreements in transatlantic relations before the COVIC-19, the pandemic accelerated tensions in transatlantic relations even more. The inauguration of the new US president Joe Biden, however, has been perceived as a new chapter in transatlantic relations. The paper aims to assess the COVID-19 pandemic implications to transatlantic relations and answer the question of whether the pandemic has strengthened or weakened the transatlantic security community? The paper stems from the idea that transatlantic countries compose a transatlantic security community. It examines the COVID-19 implications to several tiers of features that should be present in every security community: namely, implications to the perception of threats, patterns of communication and policy coordination, as well as to institutional framework. The paper argues that COVID-19 has not transformed the transatlantic security community; however, it highlighted certain problematic aspects of transatlantic relations.

This paper provides an introduction to the special issue on gender studies. It surveys each paper and identifies commonalities and dissimilarities among them, as well as suggests the potential readership for the papers based on the problems addressed and the findings. Prof. Natalija Mažeikienė from Vytautas Magnus University served as the guest editor of the special issue.

This paper provides an introduction to the special issue on expressions of information and communication theory and practice. It surveys each paper, identifies commonalities and dissimilarities among them, and suggests the potential readership for the papers based on the problems addressed and the findings.

This paper is aimed at presenting a preliminary comparative study of the Qur’anic translations produced by two autochthonous European Muslim communities: Spanish Mudéjars (Muslims who remained in the Iberian Pen- insula after the Christian reconquest) and Moriscos (former Muslims forced to convert to Christianity) and, on the other side of Europe, the Tatars of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL). The framework for this comparison is provided by some basic facts: over the span of two centuries, in the case of the Morisco pop- ulation (starting with the conquest of Granada in 1492, until the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609)1, and three centuries in that of the Tatars of the GDL (17th to 19th centuries), their literary production was exclusively hand-written. Both groups preserved their Muslim religiosity but, with some erudite exceptions, had only scarce knowledge of Arabic, the holy language of Qur’anic revelation. Moreover, without having access to one another’s culture, both Moriscos and the Tatars of the GDL adapted the Arabic alphabet to their vehicular languag- es, Romance and Slavic respectively2. Thanks to this adaptation strategy, they maintained the sacred aspect of their writings and were able to translate the Qur’an into a language they fully understood. However, in spite of these strik- ing similarities between the two groups, there were also notable differences. While the Tatars of the GDL were granted full religious freedom, the Moriscos were heavily persecuted for any signs of adherence to Islam. In order to shed more light on the phenomenon of European Muslim cultures, in this paper I will present various manuscript examples of these groups’ Qur’anic translations, and draw some preliminary conclusions regarding the information that can be retrieved from this kind of sources.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the issue of the best constitution given Aristotle’s account of human flourishing articulated in the Nicomachean Ethics. There, Aristotle claims that monarchy is the supreme form of constitution. A similar claim is repeated in Politics. The paper argues that these claims sit uneasily with Aristotle’s teleological accounts of the polis, the citizen, and his discussion of the virtues of the citizen and the good man in Politics. Given Aristotle’s philosophical definition of the state as “an association of equals for the sake of the best possible life” and his notion that “the best is happiness, and that consists in excellence and its perfect actualization and its employment”, and Aristotle’s argument on the relationship between the good man and the good citizen, this paper concludes that the best constitution is politeia. Yet, simply to argue so is not enough if we are to rescue Aristotle from his inconsistencies and his claims on “natural inequalities”. Finally, a more radical interpretation of Aristotle is outlined, which rejects Aristotle’s separation between the oikos and the polis and argues that the verticality of the former is philosophically arbitrary and contradicts the revolutionary implications of Aristotle’s normative teleology.

While there is a considerable body of literature on various psychotherapeutic paradigms and their respective models of supervision, there are not many articles reviewing and comparing different supervisory traditions and supervisor–supervisee relationships. However, this comparison is important on both theoretical and practical levels: it is essential to identify features of supervision that are unique to each paradigm and to determine whether there are any universal or common supervision processes prevalent across a variety of paradigms. This literature review aims to provide a clearer understanding of both commonalities and distinctions among various theoretical paradigms (such as psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, cognitive, and existential/humanistic therapies) and their corresponding models of supervision. To accomplish this goal, the paper examines essential aspects of supervisory relationships within each paradigm, focusing on: a) the key features of the supervision process, b) the supervisor’s role and engagement in the supervision, and c) the primary interventions and factors contributing to the effectiveness of supervision. We identify features that are unique and specific to supervisory relationships in each of the paradigms, as well as features that are common to all three traditions. Considering the theoretical underpinnings of each tradition, the paper discusses epistemological assumptions that could determine the effectiveness of supervision in the context of each therapeutic paradigm.

One of the ways to improve the accuracy of probability density estimation is multi-mode density treating as the mixture of single-mode one. In this paper we offer to use data clustering in the first place and to estimate density in every cluster separately. To objectively compare the performance, Monte Carlo approximation is used. While using various methods to evaluate the accuracy of probability density estimations we tried to use clustered and not clustered data. In this paper we also tried to reveal the usefulness of using clustering for data generated by single-mode and multi-mode distributions.

BDI logic is widely used to describe agent based systems, since it can express a lot of different real world domains with three main operators: belief, desire and intention. There are lots of works where BDI logic is used as descriptive language, but authors do not talk about implementation issues [5,2,4,8,1]. There is even known general agent implementation scheme, which do not describe howto use formal logic for such scheme implementation [12]. The main aim of this paper is to show the bridge, which connects formal and practical parts of logic. We describe how sequent calculus can be used for implementing some parts of general scheme. In this paper, we show how flexible constraints can be implemented. Sequent calculus usage is illustrated with simple examples.

The paper describes shortly the main principles of representative examples development, provides the essence of the methodology to develop representative examples and an example of its application. The main contribution of the paper is the methodology to develop representative examples that could be used to evaluate the sufficiency of specification language for specification of software system requirements.

In this paper we present separate cases of Sturm–Liouville problem with nonlocal two-point boundary condition. The existence of positive eigenvalues and eigenfunctions is analysed. Obtained results we compare with results that are described in paper [1] and denote that in some cases they don’t coincide.

This paper discusses the development of the vernacular catechism as a printed genre. The process is exemplified by the editions published in Königsberg between 1545 and 1575 where the catechisms were printed in several vernacular languages (German, Lithuanian, Polish, Prussian) in printing shops run by Hans Weinreich, Aleksander Aujezdecki, and Hans Daubmann. The paper seeks to analyse the material in terms of linguistic coverage in the Duchy of Prussia and, via analysis of the peritextual elements, how the print agents presented their work to the recipients. The aspects of book design, such as the volume, format, and decorations, are included in the analysis to indicate the intended book prestige and usage.

The paper analyzes the institution of judges – the Lithuanian Judicial Council referred to in Article 112(5) of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania. The paper attempts to define this institution by considering various alternatives of interpretation of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and at the same time assessing the interpretation of this document made by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania.

In this paper, earnings management is analyzed in the light of stakeholder theory in order to evaluate earnings management ethics. The main reasons for using earnings management are studied and systematically arranged in the context of stakeholder theory. An assumption is made that together with other motives mentioned in the literature, perceived role of ethics and social responsibility may not only influence ethical evaluation of earnings management, but also impact use of earnings management in accounting practice. The results of a study on impact of perceived roles of ethics and social responsibility on ethical evaluation of earnings management, carried out among accountants providing professional services in Lithuania, are presented in this paper. The ethical evaluation of earnings management has been found to depend on its type. Accrual-based earnings management is seen as more unethical than real earnings management. It also reveals that accountants' belief that business ethics and social responsibility are less important is a motivation for the use of manipulative accounting.

The paper contributes to further advancing research on the middle-income trap in the Baltic States. It argues, first, that while the Baltic States have already surpassed income levels associated with the middle-income trap and continue converging with advanced economies, they still might face risks of the middle-income trap defined as a difficulty to move into higher value-added positions of the value chain. Second, the paper demonstrates that over the course of recent transformations, growth models of the Baltic States have become increasingly divergent with differences between Estonia and Lithuania being most pronounced. Third, it is argued, that growth model differences also imply different risks associated with the middle-income trap. Estonia faces a risk that its leapfrogging into specialisation of ICT-based services remains premature and incapable to deliver productivity levels comparable to those of advanced economies. Yet, Lithuania faces a risk of being incapable to upgrade its large manufacturing sector. Instead, it risks continuously sustaining labour-intensive export-led growth and further taking advantage of cost-competitiveness by diversifying into new industries while still performing lower value-added activities in them.

The paper analyses Paul Ricoeur’s concept of creative imagination and shows how this essential element of human consciousness determines personal and societal identity and how it can be a source of just social norms and of ‘good life’ (vie bonne). The imagination, which is characterized by semantic innovations and a heuristic function, creates a dynamic narrative defining a human being and opens as specific rationality surpassing purely argumentative rationality and allowing to solve conflicts of social norms. The ethical aspect of this process, implying a triple structure I/other/just institutiones, creates conditions for the realization of the dialectic of justice and love in the political space; due to the dialectic, innovative ways for the realization of social justice become possible. Critical questions intended to open up the perspective for further thinking are posed at the end of the paper.

This article addresses the question of the use of modern archaeogenetics, taking into account the history of the discipline of archaeology itself, and comparing the criticisms that processual archaeology received with the criticisms that are currently directed to the use of archaeogenetics and “new” scientific methods. This paper illustrates that there are several parallels between processual archaeology in the 1980s and the criticisms received by contemporary users of archaeogenetics. This can be seen by examining the criticism that both have received and are currently receiving. This article aims to stimulate discussion about how the discipline best applies these scientific methods which are being increasingly used. The paper likewise aims to add to the discourse on how the discipline of archaeology best moves beyond the current concept of mobility and how a historical approach can be useful. At the same time, the work tries to emphasize the importance of learning from the history of one’s discipline and why it is worth taking history as a starting point.

The departure of a parent to serve a sentence of imprisonment affects the change of a family’s climate, which can be divided into three groups: (a) changes in daily life navigation and activity; (b) changes in parent-child relationships; and (c) changes in financial circumstances. The abrupt change that a child experiences can lead to the development of externalized and internalized behavioral problems, as well as changes in student academic achievement due to lack of motivation and concentration. Since the school is an educational institution that provides children with secondary socialization opportunities, it has an important role in supporting students whose parents are serving prison sentences. This paper presents research suggesting that stigmatizing students whose parents are in prison can bring shame, discomfort, and withdrawal to themselves. Considering that there are no clear suggestions on how the primary school should act when the parent goes to prison, the authors of this paper propose guidelines on minimizing the harmful consequences on socioemotional development and academic success of students whose parents go to prison.

Bankruptcy can happen to any company, but it is very difficult to identify intentional bankruptcies that are carried out for personal gain. Currently, there is no precise methodology for identifying intentional bankruptcies, so the process depends on the skills and qualifications of the investigator. The purpose of this research is to provide a method for identifying intentional bankruptcies after examining fraud in the financial statements and their impact on the probability of bankruptcy. The paper identifies the main methods of fraud bankruptcy detection, distinguishing forensic science as the main method for doing so. The paper conducts research, which was modeled on research conducted by other authors to test the effectiveness of bankruptcy prediction methods and the effectiveness of financial indicators in detecting fraud. The research evaluated the trends of the Altman Z'-Score model and the application of binary logistic regression analysis to a sample of intentional and unintentional bankruptcies. The regression analysis provided a model for determining intentional bankruptcies and identified the following indicators: net profit/assets, liabilities/assets, liabilities/equity, and Altman Z'-Score. An independent t-test was also performed to show the differences in the means of financial ratios between intentional and unintentional bankruptcies. The results of the T-test indicated that it is important to calculate and evaluate the following additional indicators: current assets/assets, receivables/income. The results of the research may help to identify the likelihood of intentional corporate bankruptcies and thus facilitate the sophisticated methods used to date.

The paper examines the modelling dimension of the virtual teaching/learning environment and its implementation practices. Changing trends of the educational processes become apparent; thus, it is necessary to reflect and justify the contours of modeling the virtual educational environment. When looking for new ways of conceptualizing teaching/learning strategies, it is especially important to understand the inclusive, enabling context of the open learning spaces, to adequately assess the content elements and to predict the possible characteristics of their expression in the context of inclusive and sustainable economy. In this paper, the process of modeling the virtual learning environment is analyzed using reflexive approaches. It is stressed that the aim of the new education policy strategy is to create learning environments that enable people of different talents and interests to receive appropriate learning, adapt to different life situations and goals, and reconcile, say, formal learning and self-education. Qualitative data is presented along with both teachers’ and educational experts’ attitudes.

This paper deals with theoretical models of soft skills development in teacher education. The immediate purpose of this consideration is to develop a model for the development of a teacher’s soft skills as a competent, innovative, motivated, and competitive specialist in the labor market in the present time. The role of soft skills in the process of professional development of employees in all organizations has been increasing in recent times. However, the importance and necessity of teachers’ soft skills and, therefore, their formation among students studying in pedagogical areas are not yet adequately realized by many participants in the educational process. This paper examines the concept of soft skills and identifies the importance of these skills for the development of a specialist in the pedagogical field. In addition, a comparative analysis of hard skills and soft skills was conducted, and their components, namely competences, values, and behavioral indicators were evaluated. An analysis was conducted to assess the labor market needs for new qualifications. This made it possible to design a model of the modern teacher with skills reflective of their real environment. The results of this study can be further used in the improvement of lifelong learning and adult education.

This paper presents the post-editing features of the machine translation (MT) system Smartling used to translate the learning content of MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) Coursera. Most of the Coursera content is delivered in English, which is one of the reasons for the low uptake of these courses in Lithuania. With the growing demand for online resources, the need to translate courses into Lithuanian has become evident and MT systems are increasingly used for that purpose. This paper describes the results of an experiment carried out with the Smartling MT system. The experiment involved 10 participants, 6 professional and 4 non-professional translators, who post-edited a passage from the Coursera course The Science of Wellbeing. The post-editing process was monitored using the Translog-II tool, which captures the participants‘ keystrokes. The paper presents the classification and frequency of MT errors. One of the most important post-editing features of the Smartling MT system is the splitting of the text into subtitle lines, which is the cause of most grammatical errors. Among the errors not attributable to this text division are those caused by the polysemy of the words, literal translation and the use of pronouns. After the post-editing task, participants filled in a short questionnaire about the functionality of the Smartling system. 7 out of 10 participants rated the performance of this system as satisfactory. The results of the study showed that Smartling is not sufficiently tailored to the Lithuanian language, and that translators have to use a lot of cognitive effort in post-editing.

This paper deals with civil aviation, which is highly international. Therefore, harmonization of regulation in this area on a global scale is inevitable, which means that aviation law requires an integrated approach. However, only slightly over half of the countries fully comply with the standards issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization for basic international aviation regulation, which poses a serious threat to aviation safety and security. In this respect, the integrative nature of the European Union offers us to look at the Union’s activities in the context of aviation regulation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact that the harmonization of civil aviation safety and security regulations in the EU has on the development of global aviation regulations. The paper provides a more detailed analysis of the beginning and further integration of the EU’s internal aviation market and the formation of the Union’s external policy in this area, which has played a key role in harmonizing the legal framework for aviation safety and security. The study revealed the preconditions for the harmonization of aviation safety and security rules in the European Union highlighted the essential features of this process and its impact on the convergence of aviation regulation on a wider scale (beyond the EU).

This paper analyzes originalism, which is considered to be the opposing constitutional theory to “living” constitutionalism, and presents and evaluates the main arguments of originalism and its approach on how the constitution should be interpreted, including the shortcomings of this constitutional theory. In the author’s opinion, it is important to start developing constitutional theories that would be considered more suitable in the context of the European tradition of statutory law. The paper does not search for possibilities of using originalism to interpret the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, which is considered to be a fundamental error.

This paper analyzes the regulation of the object of the right to property in Lithuania and related issues. The first part of the article analyzes the concept of the object of civil property law, revealing a different understanding of the object of property law in the doctrines of property law and in the legal systems of foreign countries. The second part of this paper provides a detailed account of the regulation of the object of civil property law in Lithuania, distinguishes and elaborates the criteria according to which an object is recognized as an object in the legal sense, and articulates the features according to which intangible objects should be classified as “other property” and considered as objects of property law.

This paper analyzes the translations of Antigone by Sophocles and later authors and the performances based on them in the theaters of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It investigates the necessity to translate the Antigone dramas by Sophocles, Jean Anouilh and Janusz Głowacki into national languages and stage them in theaters. The article analyzes how these works are related to the history of the Baltic countries. This paper is divided into three subparts that match the historical periods from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century. The most important performances of Antigone in the Baltic countries are analyzed, highlighting the individual style of each director and their attention to the form and expression of the performances. The main themes revealed by the artists of the Baltic countries are conscious self-sacrifice for one’s neighbor and individual resistance to conformity and tyranny.

This paper discusses guilt and responsibility in Jaspers and Levinas. First, it explores the concept of guilt in Jaspers and shows that while “metaphysical guilt” deepens the existential dimension of human life it remains indifferent to the moral dimension of guilt and responsibility uncovered by Levinas. Second, the paper explores the notions of guiltless responsibility and unavoidable guilt in Levinas and shows that responsibility is not limited to specific wrongdoing or explicit acknowledgment of guilt. By drawing out these differences between Jaspers and Levinas, the author asks if Levinas’s approach might provide illuminating guidance to talk about our guilt and responsibility for the Holocaust as well as other social events.

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), widely recognized as one of the most important documents in foreign language teaching, defines the levels of communicative language proficiency. The common points of reference are primarily meant to assist foreign language teachers and test developers striving to adhere to a unified understanding of CEFR levels. Yet it is not uncommon among practitioners to claim a particular level of a task, text or sample of learner performance drawing merely on their individual experience and intuition, with only limited knowledge of the original descriptor scales. The main purpose of this paper is to describe general procedures for relating foreign language tests and learner performances to the CEFR as they are prescribed by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). The five stages of the linking process are familiarisation, specification, standardisation training and benchmarking, standard setting and validation. While the full implementaion of the linking process is a complex undertaking mostly applied in the context of high stakes examinations, certain stages of the linking process could be implemented by individual language schools and programmes. Benchmarking is one of such stages. It involves identification of illustrative learner performances for different proficiency levels. This is a stage which also has its relevance in daily teaching practice and could be easily incorporated in routine assessment procedures thus increasing foreign language teachers' awareness of CEFR levels. Therefore the discussion of the formal linking procedures in this paper is followed by a demonstration of an exercise in benchmarking. It is meant to acquaint the Lithuanian readers with the complexity of the linking process and encourage a more principled approach to level allocations. The exercise in alignment with CEFR level decribed here involves L2 spoken Lithuanian produced by five foreign learners of young age. Sample performances were taken from a corpus of L2 Lithuanian compiled within the XXX project. Since the subjects are children of 11–12 years, another important challenge in the alignment with the CEFR is children's maturity and the necessary adaptation of CEFR descriptors for young learners. Qualitative analysis of five learner samples offers a number of insights into practicalities of linking procedures and discusses ways to ensure reliability and objectivity.

The paper focuses on the book of poetry immersion (2017) by Lithuanian poet Gytis Norvilas, maps the strategies of its reading within the framework of the semiotic-pragmatic approach, and considers the theoretical issues of the mapping. Despite the book cannot be unambiguously defined as an example of patterned poetry, it is configured in a specific way which exposes the functionality of the structural visual layer in written / printed poetry. This feature of the text in question inspires to revise the interpretation of the issue of iconicity and the configuration of the model of reading literature, proposed by the semiotic-pragmatic approach. The semiotic-pragmatic modelling combines Peircean and Jakobsonian ideas with minor insertions of Lotmanian thought (i.e. Johansen 2002), thus it links the ideas from the conceptual systems, based on different epistemological grounds (Peircean vs Saussurean notion of sign). It creates theoretical tensions that force to raise the question of how the transference of notions from one system to another changes their meaning, and where one could find the basis for overcoming or bypassing the controversies. The first part of the paper explores the theoretical tensions between Peircean, Jakobsonian and Lotmanian approaches to the issues of iconicity and attempts at revealing the fields of theoretical reasoning that help to define the ground of contradictions and see the way of their bypassing. Besides, it relates the discussion of iconicity with a discussion of the semiotic-pragmatic model of reading as iconization, based on the Jakobsonian idea of intersemiotic translation, and revises the model concerning the printed poetic text. The second part of the paper exemplifies the theoretical issues in the analysis of the book of poetry immersion. It examines the process of diagrammatization – the reading strategy, which makes the syntax of the text and that of the book the meaning-making devices, shows how diagrammatization semantizes the structure of the book, transforms the process of imaginization, and helps to identify the role of the book’s dialogue with hypotext to which both intertextual references and the structure of the text refer.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the most important problems of the crisis of the political in the first stage of Western civilization – the Greek world in the IV–II centuries BC. The crisis of the political is treated as a unique constellation of political, supra-political, and apolitical factors. The paper explores a hypothesis of how the power elite eliminates the core features of the political – tensions of consciousness and natural human hostilities – and substitutes them with management techniques that cause public apathy towards previously established democratic institutions. A theatrical model of life with an intensified function of individualizing social roles is an unavoidable result of such processes.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the OPr. construction ʃubban Aʃman (cf. German selb acht, OLith. patį aʃchmą) attested in the liturgical supplement of the Baptism Booklet of Martin Luther’s Enchiridion (1561). The two terms are mostly traditionally considered as not related to one another. A new interpretation of this construction is given in this paper, based on a newly accomplished comparative and philological analysis of the passage involved. It is possible to say that we are dealing with a collective numeral, which was known also in Middle Europe-linguistic-context (examples from Middle Latin, Middle German, and West-Slavic are given). During the process of translation both an iconic imitation of the model and a servile calque played a major role for the emergence of OPr. ʃubban Aʃman (and OLith. patį aʃchmą). Despite the traditional interpretations, my conclusion is that the two terms are related indeed.

The paper deals with two case-forms of East Baltic nominals, the dative and the instrumental dual. It summarises what is already known about these case-forms from Lithuanian and Latvian dialects as well as from Old Lithuanian sources. It is demonstrated that these data imply a particular reconstruction of the dual inflectional endings in these cases for Proto-Baltic. Subsequently, the paper shows that etymological matches of the reconstructed Proto-Baltic endings of the dative and instrumental dual may be attested in two further branches of Indo-European. Such endings are found in Gaulish, which is a member of the Celtic branch, and in Ancient Greek.

Dark tourism is a segment of tourism that has been growing in recent decades and is strongly associated with tragedy and mystery. As a result, 2020 was strongly marked by the pandemic of the new coronavirus (COVID-19). This paper presents a reflection on the role of dark tourism in the pandemic and post-pandemic period and analyses impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism industry. The paper discusses the global context of the pandemic situation that has an important impact on re-directing and tracing eventually new tourism trajectories of the (post)pandemic time. The shift that occurred in pandemic time are like catalysts for re-enforcement and raised interest into slow movements and ‘new normal’ tourism. Instead of seeking to ‘go back to business as usual’, the author argues to reconsider the trajectories that emerged during the time of the pandemic and to envisage other approaches towards more sustainable tourism.

In 2021, the association “Knowledge Economy Forum” published their research “The assessment of the impact of cultural education activities”. The mentioned paper included analysis of countries’ cultural education practices designed for children and youth (including Lithuania and its comparison to international practices). In general, the assessment of the impact of the existing cultural education “mapping” in Lithuania is welcomed, and this paper is based on empirical research. The most important drawback of the mentioned research is a lack of scientific criteria.

This paper takes on the highly problematic question whether the political is reconcilable with the conception of a person within Robert Spaemann’s philosophy. Spaemann devotes himself to detailed explication of the moral ontology of the person, however, the political ontology in his thought is only assumed but not developed and it seems to stand in deep conflict with the developed elements of person’s ontology. The aim of the paper is to investigate whether Spaemann’s notion of the political can be reconciled with the rest of the person’s ontology and if this turn to the political rather leads to depersonalization. It is argued that it is possible to develop Spaemann’s personal ontology while integrating the concept of the political within the conception of a person.

This paper aims to define the aspects (practices) of innovative human resources management and identify the impact on such behavioral outcomes as employee engagement and organizational commitment at the workplace. Proposed practices for innovative human resources management are: idiosyncratic work arrangements, high performance work systems (HPWS), sustainable workplace, employee autonomy. Review of primary and secondary sources has shown that these variables are related to such positive organizational outcomes as workplace productivity, flexibility, level of innovativeness, resistance to internal and external threats. In addition, it was indicated that intensity of HPWS can lead to a workplace burnout in the long run and it is crucial to understand how HRM practices work and what we should expect. This paper gives an overview of abovementioned HRM practices and what impact they can make on employee behavioral outcomes.

The paper aims at the revealing of the possible manifestations of foreign element in a succession of a share in a limited liability company registered in Ukraine; distinguishing the issues which should be governed by lex societatis and lex successionis; determining of lex societatis and lex successionis as well as international competence of notaries and international jurisdiction of courts in the matters of succession of share in a limited liability company registered in Ukraine. To achieve this aim the paper analyses some bilateral international treaties of Ukraine on legal assistance and the Law of Ukraine On Private International Law. The solution of the issues which have not been solved in Ukrainian law was offered taking into consideration the solutions of the Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and acceptance and enforcement of authentic instruments in matters of succession and on the creation of a European Certificate of Succession, as well as the law of Germany, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The Vytis (Coat of Arms of Lithuania) is a national symbol of Lithuania that typically functions within an official state frame. This paper examines how the use and functions of the Vytis had changed from the year 2013 to 2019. While presenting an analysis of the new forms of Vytis expression, a question arises: how does the intensified and atypical use of the symbol correlate with the temperature of nationalism in our society? The research, which is based on discourse theory and includes visual and textual information found in media, social media, and other non-academic platforms, allows distinguishing four new directions of the symbol’s expression: (1) commercialization, (2) transformation into a political tool, (3) transfer to everyday culture, and (4) individual practices as well as creative practices. This paper concludes that the changing use of Vytis shows elements of both cooling and heating nationalisms. We face a cooling nationalism when the symbol becomes a part of a routine that we no longer reflect. We can also detect attributes of heating nationalism in our society. They are triggered by a sense of internal or external threats and are inseparable from the temperature of our public space.

By using a theoretical approach to the critique of surveillance capitalism, and by drawing on public discourse sources on facial recognition (FR) technology, this paper analyzes visual surveillance in contemporary societies. Currently, there are both numerous instances of a sudden development of FR capabilities on a global scale as well as efforts to prevent the development of what is called the “most dangerous technology.” This paper also questions the techno-solutionism that enables “perfect” mathematical human cognition. Overall, the paper sheds light on the global disagreement on the regulatory environment for FR technology, with different countries, states, or big cities treating biometric data protection differently. There is also a confluence of predicaments and legal concerns in the public sphere regarding FR. Nevertheless, it is possible to outline the typical narratives that emerge in media discourses, highlighted in this paper using three different examples. These are (1) concerns about human rights and privacy (the US case), (2) a “soft” indecisiveness about promoting unfettered innovation on the one hand, and preventing human rights abuses on the other (the EU case), and (3) the fear of digital data being collected by a hostile authoritarian state, namely China (the Lithuanian case).

This paper qualitatively examines mixed speech styles within the context of two single-gendered white-collar Lithuania-based workplaces situated in Vilnius: an IT company and a company producing cosmetics (COSM). In Lithuanian contexts, mixed speech styles could be broadly defined as a flow of speech consisting of linguistic resources from languages other than Lithuanian (mainly English and Russian) incorporated into otherwise Lithuanian talk. The paper focuses on situated usage of mixed speech styles employed in talk at work. It aims to see how the linguistic enactment of mixed speech styles varies according to the working team and how such variation may influence the construction of participants’ complex identities. The research is based on naturally occurring recorded speech, and the method applied could be determined as ethnographically informed Interactional Sociolinguistics. The analysis shows that the two single-gendered communities of practice examined do not draw on the same non-native linguistic resources and that such dissimilar speaker choices and identity work can be predetermined by an intricate interplay of social and situational factors.

The paper is focused on identifying criteria for legal reasoning used by courts in disputes regarding internet intermediary‘s liability for offences committed by someone else. There are cases with this atypical phenomenon when a person, who did not infringe someone else‘s individual rights, is held liable, e. g. liability of an internet platform‘s operator for unlawful comments posted by the visitors. The paper presents an analysis of criteria for legal reasoning which carry potential to be used in the future when new disputes related to technological innovation reach courts.

In the way of fast and complex developments of businesses, the inventory plays as well an important role. The complexity of the economic environment where the businesses operate and the problems they encounter orient the manager’s attention towards the management of inventory. This refers to the inventory’s specifics in general and his constituent elements. Despite these the common characteristic of the inventory is its double character, as on one hand it represents necessary, inevitable elements for the development of the productive activity of every business, and on the other the inventory requires considerable commitments of the financial sources. This has made the efficient management of the inventory a central problem, on which a series of researches have been concentrated. This paper is an effort to deal with some problems of efficient management of the inventory in the business organizations, regarding the quantity, quality, and time dimensions on the inventory because inventories are the focal point in business performance. But, the greatest part of businesses in Albania operate in the conditions when information about inventory management missing. Problems addressed in this paper can be serve the managers for improvement their job in the future.

The literature indicates an ever-growing involvement of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in foreign policy and hence an increasing potential for them to exert influence over it. Approaching foreign aid policy as a suitable empirical indicator of a country’s foreign policy, this paper examines the case of Lithuanian development NGOs’ (NGDOs’) influence over bilateral foreign aid policy. Based on the mechanistic approach to social science, this paper demonstrates that NGDO influence is observed when an NGDO has resources to assist decision-makers in policy implementation; when it behaves strategically; and when decision-makers’ access to these resources is threatened. Although other NGDO’s resources are insufficient to result in the NGDO being able to exercise influence, they help to strengthen the long-term collaborative relationship with decision-makers, which is necessary for the micro-phenomenon of NGDO influence to occur. The paper concludes that the potential influence of Lithuanian NGDOs is limited, constrained by the scant demand for NGDOs’ resources and the unconducive institutional setting. But the paper identifies low issue salience and a focused concentration of valuable resources within Lithuanian NGDOs as factors which increase the likelihood of NGDO influence.