Development Of Suburbs In The Context Of Post- Socialist Consumption Models : The Case Of Pierīga

Transition from socialism to capitalism in Eastern and Central Europe has been characterized as the most courageous experiment with neo-liberal ideas in the contemporary world. Neo-liberalism as the process, it has been argued, had to be domesticated not only by political elites, but also by individuals, families and communities (Creed, 1998). Having a closer look at post-socialist home life the term “normal” stands for a life standard which is extraordinary in the local context and is likened to an “average level of West” and is being realized in the sphere of housing development and body care (Fehérváry 2002). A private house in a suburb is perceived as signifying the middle-class consumption standard in the West, and also in postsocialist societies middle-income strata are aspiring to affirm their status by Western consumer symbols. In the course of last decade, a considerable number of middle-class-in-the-making families in Latvia made decisions to apply for mortgages in order to acquire a ‘house of their dreams” in a suburb. The paper intends to examine how the families have managed to fulfil their hopes for a “normal life” in a comfortable suburban house. In Latvia it is, first of all, Pierīga, the suburban zone surrounding the capital city of Riga that corresponds to the concept of suburb as developed in the classical theories of urban space. An active property development in Pierīga began at the turn of the new millennium when the real estate market was booming. Most municipalities envisaged an unprecedented rise in number of real property and hurried to plan the development of their territories accordingly. The outcome was dozens of widely scattered real property clusters, built with no overarching communal development plan and with none or underdeveloped infrastructure. A folk term for such type of settlement was soon coined, pļavu ciemi (“the meadow villages”). A private house in a post-socialist suburb like Pierīga at times reminds a heterotopia – a space contrasting to the surrounding area. This process is not an illusion but a compensation (Foucault 1986), that has been made possible by Latvians’ capacity, developed in socialist times, to disregard (to a certain degree) the surrounding social world. The paper is based on study that seeks to integrate quantitative and qualitative methods. A recent population survey (SKDS, 2009) reveals that suburb is a desirable living place, even though suburb residents lack a sense of affiliation with it. The survey data suggest that, while being only partly satisfied with the infrastructure and the development of their territory, the suburbanites seldom interact with the local government and are unwilling to take part in the activities of the local community. Semi-structured interviews with owners of new private houses in Pierīga, in turn, reveal that having purchased a suburban family house, few owners have fulfilled their aspirations for a “normal life”. A heavy burden of debt weighs upon all interviewees. In such a situation, families have had to modify their life-style and habits Anxiety about their long-term capability to deal with mortgages accompanies all interviewed families. The intreviewees’ narratives highlight the neo-liberal developments in the private sphere, the family life, as well as the public sphere, the suburban social environment.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Kā veidot tūrisma pakalpojumus pieejamākus cilvēkiem ar mentāliem apgrūtinājumiem? Rokasgrāmata

Grāmatas nolūks ir būt par pavadoni centienos padarīt tūrisma pakalpojumus pieejamākus cilvēkiem ar mentāliem apgrūtinājumiem un/vai invaliditāti. Šī grāmata var būt noderīga, ja pārstāvat: 1) tūrisma pakalpojumu sniedzēju; 2) tūrisma organizāciju; 3) politikas veidotājus; 4) biedrību personām ar mentāliem apgrūtinājumiem un/vai invaliditāti; 5) plašāku sabiedrību, kas ir ieinteresēta uzlabot tūrisma pakalpojumus cilvēkiem ar mentāliem apgrūtinājumiem un/vai invaliditāti. Šīs rokasgrāmatas saturs tapa, par pamatu ņemot šādi iegūtus datus: datus no sekundāriem avotiem un zinātniskās literatūras, no aptaujām un intervijām ar vairākām NVO, no sarunām ar ekspertiem tūrisma un psihiatriskas invaliditātes jomā, no lauka pētījuma ar pakalpojumu lietotājiem, kā arī no prototipu izstrādes un testēšanas, ko veica universitāšu un tūrisma nozares partneri Beļģijā, Igaunijā un Latvijā. Šī grāmata: 1) ietver izglītojošu informāciju par mentāliem apgrūtinājumiem; 2) var veicināt un iedvesmot strādāt ar cilvēkiem ar mentāliem apgrūtinājumiem; 3) kalpo par instrumentu pieejamības palielināšanai, veidojot inovatī vus pakalpojumus muzejos un citās apskates vietās; 4) piedāvā pašnovērtējuma rīku, kas jums palīdzēs noteikt pakalpojumus, kurus jūsu organizācija vai jūs sadarbībā ar kolēģiem varētu uzlabot vai ieviest. Grāmata tapusi ERASMUS+ pētniecības projektā “Pārdomāti tūrisma pakalpojumi cilvēkiem ar garīga rakstura traucējumiem (MindTour)".Šo projektu fi nansiāli atbalstīja Eiropas Savienības programma Erasmus+. Projekta ID: 2020-1-EE01-KA202-07798

Latvian family physicians’ experience diagnosing depression in somatically presenting depression patients: A qualitative study

Background: Depression continues to be under-diagnosed in primary care settings. One factor that influences physicians’ likelihood of diagnosing depression is patients’ presentation style. Patients who initially present with somatic symptoms are diagnosed at a lower rate and with greater delay than patients who present with psychosocial complaints. Objectives: To identify the barriers preventing depression diagnosis in somatically presenting patients in an Eastern European primary care setting. Methods: Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 16 family physicians (FPs) in Latvia. FPs were sampled using a maximum variation strategy, varying on patient load, urban/rural setting, FP gender, presence/absence of on-site mental health specialists, and FP years of practice. Results: FPs observed that a large subgroup of depression patients presented with solely somatic complaints. FPs often did not recognize depression in somatically presenting patients until several consultations had passed without resolution of the somatic complaint. When FPs had psychosocial information about the somatically presenting patient, they recognized depression more quickly. Use of depression screening questionnaires was rare. Barriers to diagnosis continued beyond recognition. Faced with equivocal symptoms that undermined clinical certainty, FPs postponed investigating their clinical suspicion that the patient had depression and pursued physical examinations that delayed depression diagnosis. FPs also used negative physical examination results to convince reluctant patients of a depression diagnosis. Conclusion: Delayed recognition, the need to rule out physical illness, and the use of negative physical examination results to discuss depression with patients all slowed the path to depression diagnosis for somatically presenting patients in Latvian primary care

Mindful Tourism Services for People with Mental Impairment. Situation Scan: Latvia, 2021

The report is part of the EU Erasmus + funded project “Mindful tourism services for mentally disordered people” (MindTour). The project aims to promote and support tourism entrepreneurs to value mentally disordered clients and their families as persons and customers and help them design mindful tourism services accessible for mentally disordered people. The project is implemented in cooperation with Estonian, Belgian and Latvian higher education institutions – University of Tartu, Pärnu College (Estonia), Thomas More Mechelen-Antwerpen (Belgium), University of Latvia (Latvia), as well as leisure and tourism service providers - Pärnu Museum (Estonia), Museum Dr Guislain (Belgium) and SIA Zeit Hotel (Latvia). This report reveals the current situation in the use and accessibility of tourism services for people with mental impairment in Latvia. Researchers of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the University of Latvia Agita Lūse, Liene Rācene, Diāna Popova, Nadezhda Pazuhina and Aija van der Steina researched in the autumn and spring semesters of the academic year 2020/2021, using both secondary data sources and gathering primary data through interviews with social service providers and tourism service providers, as well as participant observation and mapping of services, involving people with GRT in the consumption of tourism services.ERASMUS+ project Mindful tourism services for mentally disordered peopl