Criticality assessment of energy infrastructure

After the last major accidents in the energy sector of the last decade (USA and Canada (2003), India (2012), Russian-Ukrainian (2009)), energy infrastructure criticality assessment has become one of the most important issues. It has become the topical subject of the economy and national security in all countries. There is no single measure unit for the assessment of critical infrastructure with respect to “interdependency” among critical infrastructure sectors. This paper proposes to use criticality of infrastructure element as a measure to assess the importance of considered element to the normal activity of all sectors of infrastructure. The pilot numerical simulation of heat and electricity infrastructure was performed to demonstrate the implementation of the application of developed method for the assessment of infrastructure functionality and criticality

Professionalization of managers consultants by applying educational leadership (coaching)

The modern market of services and trade in Lithuania is very dynamic and unique. Therefore, it becomes very important to ensure that the managers consultants working there are professionals in their field. In order to ensure professionalization, the development of these employees and the improvement of their general and special competencies become extremely important. It is possible to participate in the professionalization process and improve competencies in several ways: through experience, observing the work of a professional, participating in trainings / courses or contacting a specialist in educational leadership (coaching). This specialist, by applying various techniques, can help to set the right goals, help to find a solution to the problem through conversation, thus helping to improve competencies

The interface of the oncological illness perception, health locus of control and depressiveness from the perspectives of oncological patients and healthy persons

Darbe yra analizuojamos onkologinių ligonių ir sveikų asmenų onkologinės ligos suvokimo, sveikatos kontrolės lokuso ir depresiškumo tarpusavio sąsajos bei skirtumai onkologinių ligonių bei sveikų asmenų grupėse. Tyrime dalyvavo 167, iš jų 79 onkologinėmis ligomis sergantys ir 88 sveiki suaugę asmenys. Apklausti 68 vyrai (40,7 proc.) ir 99 moterys (59,3 proc.). Tiriamųjų amžiaus pasiskirstymas – nuo 23 m. iki 82 m., amžiaus vidurkis 53,40 m. (Stand. nuokr. 12,54). Onkologinės ligos suvokimas nustatytas Ligos suvokimo klausimynu (Illness Perception Questionare, IPQ-R; Weinman , et al., 1996), SKL – Daugiamate sveikatos kontrolės lokuso skale, A forma (MHLC-Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale; Wallston, Wallston, DeVellis, 1978), o depresiškumas įvertintas HAD skalė (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – HADS, Bunevičius, Žilėnienė, 1991). Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad onkologiniai ligoniai labiau nei sveiki asmenys tiki gydymo galimybėmis kontroliuoti onkologinę ligą bei aiškiau nei sveikieji suvokia onkologinę ligą ir jos požymius. Tuo tarpu sveiki asmenys onkologinę ligą suvokia kaip labiau ciklišką, sukeliančią negatyvesnes emocijas bei rimtesnes pasekmes, lyginant su vėžiu sergančiais tiriamaisiais. Jie taip pat labiau nei onkologiniai ligoniai yra linkę onkologinės ligos priežastis priskirti psichologinėms ir sveikatai nepalankaus elgesio priežastims. Nustatyta, kad onkologiniai ligoniai patiria daugiau depresiškumo simptomų nei sveiki asmenys, jie taip pat yra labiau orientuoti į atsitiktinumų ir kitų poveikio kontrolę. Be to, atskleista, kad onkologinių ligonių depresiškumą geriausiai prognozuoja emocinių reakcijų suvokimas ir amžius, o onkologinės ligos aiškumo suvokimą – asmeninės onkologinės ligos kontrolės ir emocinių reakcijų suvokimas bei vidinė kontrolė.The purpose of this paper is to analize the interface and diferrences of the oncological illness perception, health locus of control and depressiveness from the perspectives of oncological patients and healthy persons. The results of this master thesis is based on the survey conducted among 167 respondents, 79 of which are oncological patients and 88 healthy persons. 68 men (40,7 pct.) and 99 women (59,3 pct.) aged 23 – 82 (53,4 on average, standard deviation – 12,54) were interviewed. The oncological illness perception was determined by using the Illness Perception Questionare (IPQ-R, Weinman, et al., 1996) and Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, form A (MHLC, Wallsaton, Wallston, DeVellis, 1978). Depressiveness was evaluated by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS, Bunevičiu, Žilėnienė, 1991). The survey has revealed that oncological patients perceive the oncological illness itself and its symptoms more clearly than healthy people. What is more, the latter is less likely to believe in the treatment possibilities to control the illness. Unlike oncological patients, healthy people perceive the oncological illness as the illness, which is cyclical, triggers negative emotions and has other undesirable effects. Also they tend to ascribe oncological illness to unhealthy behavior and psycological problems. It was identified that the patients feel more depressive than healthy people. Furthermore, the oncological patients are more oriented towards the control of coincidences and other impacts. Moreover, it was discovered that perception of emotional reactions and age can predict the depressiveness of the oncological patients the best, meanwhile the perception of the personal oncological illness control, emotional reactions and inner control can help them perceive the clarity of the illness.Socialinių mokslų fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Professionalization of managers consultants by applying educational leadership (coaching)

The modern market of services and trade in Lithuania is very dynamic and unique. Therefore, it becomes very important to ensure that the managers consultants working there are professionals in their field. In order to ensure professionalization, the development of these employees and the improvement of their general and special competencies become extremely important. It is possible to participate in the professionalization process and improve competencies in several ways: through experience, observing the work of a professional, participating in trainings / courses or contacting a specialist in educational leadership (coaching). This specialist, by applying various techniques, can help to set the right goals, help to find a solution to the problem through conversation, thus helping to improve competencies

Citizen participation in urban planning processes in lithuania: a discourse analysis

The aim of this thesis is to examine how citizens and municipal representatives legitimise their position while addressing issues related to public space. The theoretical framework draws on a paper by L. Häikiö, which presents three different argument categories used by both citizens and municipal representatives in order to build grounds for legitimacy, namely expertise, representation and the common good. Discourse analysis was used in order to explore the different kinds of argument categories and arguments within them, used by different actors to legitimise their position and to question the legitimacy of others. Three municipal projects related to reconstruction of public spaces in Vilnius and Kaunas were analysed. The cases were characterised by conflict between discontent local citizens and municipal representatives. The results revealed that both groups of actors used arguments within the aforementioned categories. Furthermore, the theoretical framework was supplemented by a variety of previously undescribed arguments as well as a novel argument category related to law and procedures. The paper contributes to research concerned with the discursive struggle in the process of governance. It also paves way for better understanding of citizen involvement in urban planning

Nestacionarių procesų modelių parametrų vertinimas Bajeso metodu : daktaro disertacija : fiziniai mokslai, informatika (09P)

Disertacija rengta 2005-2009 metais Vytauto Didžiojo universiteteBibliogr.: p. 78-83Matematikos ir statistikos katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Numerical modelling of continuous wave laser-induced damage threshold in laser optics

As continuous wave (CW) lasers are improved and used in a broader spectrum of applications there has arisen a need to assure their quality. The latest research regarding continuous wave laser induced damage threshold was done in 1998, with the assumption that the material is damaged irreversibly once it reaches melting point. On the other hand, research in short pulse lasers has shown that optical coatings and subsurface defects of the substrate glass also have a significant impact on the damage threshold, but this has not yet been confirmed for CW lasers. The goal of this work is to estimate thermally induced stress and melting point, of coated or defected optical components, under CW irradiation, using numerical modelling software. It was observed that using a smaller beam diameter displays a stronger threshold fluence dependence on irradiation duration (within tested variable limits), than in the case of a larger beam diameter. Numerical modelling of UVFS samples has shown that subsurface defects under irradiation act as stress raiser, in addition their shape and position have a significant impact on the damage threshold. Under the assumption that generalized (von Mises) stress is an adequate stress criterion, it was determined that different damage phenomena become the most prominent under different irradiation duration. Investigation of gold coated UVFS substrate has shown that melting point damage threshold depends on irradiation duration and decreases with it even at short pulse range

Peculiarities of corporate event management

Peculiarities of Corporate Event Management Work aim – analyze organizing peculiarities of Corporate Event. Work tasks: 1. Conception analyzation of corporate events; 2. Investigation of corporate events organizing stages; 3. Empirically analyze peculiarities of corporate event organization Thousands of events are taking place in the world every day. They may be divided into several categories: cultural, sports, political, social, corporate, religious, and other types of events. The aim of corporate events is to promote a better working environment of an organization; to create a better relationship between the executives and the employees; to show the appreciation to the workers. Corporate events is now a major part of the event market, however, this field is very recent and does not contain a strong empirical database. Therefore, this thesis is expected to complement the existing data about the peculiarities of corporate event management in Lithuania. The perception of the company both in internal and external environment, as well as the organizer’s responsibility for the image of corporation, were distinguished as the main points of managing such an event. In this type of management, the accountability of the event formation and reaching the final result is necessary for the client. An analysis of systematic academic literature and other data, methods of interview questioning were applied in the research, together with content analysis method applied to the data. A few stages were determined: the concept of corporate events organizing, their demand and their influence on the staff. Concluding the results of the qualitative research, it proved that numerous enterprises perceive corporate events as a method of communicating the goals of the company, promoting the self expression of the workers and creating a pleasent environment. The demand of event management was identified as well, and it showed that more than a half of corporations organize at least two events per year, creating a big market for their management. Finally, the research suggested that corporate events make a considerable impact on the associate relationships and improve the climate of the corporation