Newcomers in Latvian countryside : economic and social potential

The paper focus on increase of urban to rural migration in recent decades, which led population growth in many rural communities in in Latvia's countryside. The Covid-19 pandemic, with its restrictions, has also indirectly encouraged the move of city dwellers to the countryside. Newcomers as a separate category of rural residents receive special attention in scientific literature and research. The potential of newcomers has been studied in Latvia to a limited extent. The aim of research is to evaluate the impact of newcomers in various rural territories of Latvia. The study was conducted using the qualitative research approach - focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews. The results of the study reveal the experience of successful use of the economic and social potential of newcomers in the rural areas of Latvia. The vision, knowledge, skills and experience of newcomers enrich and empower local communities, contribute to the spread of remote work in the countryside, the creation of new economic practices, the development and recognition of places/territories. Newcomers are a significant human resource asset for any rural community, especially in remote and depopulated rural areas.Peer reviewe

Review on the consumers' response to the Covid-19 crisis in Latvia

The regulations for restricting the Covid-19 virus set by the Latvian government, which entered into force on March 13, 2020, caused significant changes in the operation of outlets and consumer behavior. At the onset of the emergency, Latvia, like many parts of the world, experienced uncoordinated collective behavior that could potentially lead to significant changes in food supply chains. Therefore, one of the research directions of The National Research Program project “Towards the Post-pandemic Recovery: Economic, Political and Legal Framework for the Preservation of Latvia's Growth Potential and Increasing Competitiveness” (recovery-LV) (2020) was to find out how the Covid-19 crisis Restrictions have changed buyers' habits towards buying and consuming food. The article summarizes and analyses the research results of the content analysis, semi-structured interviews and survey conducted within the project. An analysis of the results shows that, as a result of the crisis, consumers are less likely to visit outlets, cook more often at home and choose more locally sourced food. It was concluded that the consumer agitation regarding the purchase of food products in 2020 was short-lived, which later returned to the usual limits of the habits of various socio-demographic groups of the population.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Social inclusion vs social exclusion : The case of the Preiļi and Līvāni districts

In August 2021, we carried out a study of the needs of socially isolated people in the Preiļi and Līvāni districts of Latvia. The aim was to identify the real situation of social exclusion in rural areas of Latvia in order to provide a more complete picture of the needs of socially excluded groups and thus contribute to regional development policy, especially from the perspective of social inclusion. The qualitative research approach was chosen to acquire information: interviews with representatives of socially excluded groups and semi-structured interviews with professionals working with different categories of socially excluded people. Social exclusion is a sensitive topic for those who are socially disadvantaged, so the basic principles of research ethics were strictly observed: personal autonomy, non-harm, confidentiality and fairness. The study found that the most pronounced form of social isolation is exclusion from the labour market. People who are unemployed, are trapped in a ‘poverty cycle’ from which they cannot escape without the help of social institutions. The information obtained does not confirm the long-standing assumption that long-term unemployed are mere ‘consumers of the system’, nor does it confirm the assumption that socially isolated people have high expectations of a high salary. Sometimes existing attempts to improve the situation of socially isolated people are not in line with their real needs, thus failing to achieve the intended goal. In general, the specificity of the region is such that there are no mass one-size-fits-all solutions, but each situation and problem has to be tailored individually.Peer reviewe

Social and economic challenges and opportunities in family formation in Latvia

publishersversionPeer reviewe

Prerequisites for promoting innovation projects in the agricultural sector

According to the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) that started 2012, the Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative "Innovation Union" specifies European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) as a new tool for speeding up innovation through linking existing policies and instruments. Based on the report “Innovation, Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability in Latvia” prepared by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2019, it analyses innovations in agriculture in order to promote further development of the sector. The agricultural sector has progressed more slowly than the economic sector and slightly more needs to be invested in order to ensure a well-functioning innovation system and a policy environment that would increase agricultural productivity and improve sustainability. The aim of paper is to reveal what prerequisites are necessary to promote the development of innovation projects in agricultural sector. The research based on analysis of documents exploring the views of European Innovation Partnership project managers on how the innovation process in European Innovation Partnership projects has taken place and what are the main preconditions for promoting the development of innovation projects, as well as observation and semistructured interview, in turn, exploring, which can contribute to the development of innovation projects. As a result of the research, 8 preconditions for the promoting development of innovation projects in agriculture were identified. The results of the research can have a significant impact on the development of innovation, identifying weaknesses, problems that need more attention and take specific activities to improve the current situation.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Impacts of COVID-19 on the food supply chain for arable crops in Latvia

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented stress to food supply chains, pointing to weaknesses in the labour, processing, transport and logistics spheres, as well as significant changes in demand. Food supply chains have shown considerable resilience in the face of such stress. Monitoring of the food sector during the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that the effects of COVID-19 on food supply, demand and access are interlinked processes and have a complex impact on food systems. In addition, high-value food supply chains in developed countries are even more complex, so countries need to respond quickly to restore them and also develop mechanisms that balance business and public interests and protect farmers and food business workers during future potential pandemic crises. The research aims to identify the main demand and supply side factors that affect the resilience of local and global food supply chains during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as assess the resilience of the supply chain for arable crops during the COVID-19 crisis in Latvia, identifying the main risk factors. The research found that arable crop farmers were relatively less affected by the COVID-19 crisis than other agricultural employees. The impact of the crisis was larger on the crop processing industry than on the other industries, and the main risk factors related to changes in demand and the industry’s dependence on imported raw materials and the successful operation of export markets. Based on an in-depth risk analysis, the research developed recommendations for policy makers and actors in the agri-food chain that would improve the resilience of local (domestic) participants of the arable crop food supply chain in Latvia.publishersversionPeer reviewe

The Human Being from a Sociological Perspective: Summary

Dina Bite focuses on sociological aspect of looking at people. Accordingly, in her article “The Human Being from a Sociological Perspective”, she gives an insight into the most important sociological paradigms, emphasising their relation to interpretation of human nature. The presentation of the topic uses classical division of sociological theories into macro and micro levels in chronological order, with the aim of highlighting their different perspectives on human nature. Dina Bite first discusses the definition of man in sociology, considering that the main focus of sociology is the interaction between man and the surrounding society, which implies an endless debate on the question “who came first – society or man?” In the study of man, the term homo sociologicus is used to explain man’s place in the social structure or cultural, economic and political context that determines their consciousness and way of life. The term homo sociologicus was first used by the German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf to emphasise the influence of morals and values on an individual’s choices. The individual, although subject to set expectations, norms and sanctions, can nevertheless vary their performance in role fulfilment. The author emphasises that early sociological paradigms focused on a macro-level approach to the analysis of society, identifying the needs of society as a whole and the most important social structures in society, while later theoretical approaches emphasised the influence of the individual in shaping social reality and sought to find a compromise between a strong macro and micro-level approach. Man, in the social theoretical sense, is a complex product of various internal impulses and external environmental factors. Human nature is characterised by biological and psychological traits, as well as by economic, political and cultural regimes of a given society. The task of sociologists would therefore be to look for commonalities and differences in combinations of the above-mentioned characteristics. Theories of collectivism are synonymous with macro, structuralist and objectivist theories (e.g., structural functionalism). In contrast to the macro approach, the so-called individualist theories are emphasised. In their interpretation, social reality is the result of actions and interactions of individuals and groups. In this case, autonomy and value of an individual is relatively high, since it is up to individuals to determine what meanings will be assigned to certain objects and what consequences this will have. Theories of individualism include the so-called subjectivist, micro, elementalist theories (e.g,. symbolic interactionism, phenomenology). Dina Bite points out that sociology does not consider an individual in isolation from the surrounding social environment, so the most important difference between the theoretical perspectives that explain interaction between an individual and the environment is the extent to which the individual is able to influence the environment. In a sociological perspective, issues of power, conflict and inequality are always present for the full expression or realisation of human nature. Macro-level theories emphasise dependence of the expression of human nature on historically established forms of social organisation, which vary from time to time and from society to society. They see an individual as a socially and culturally organised being, willingly or unwillingly subject to the influence of society – in the range between instinctive and social human behaviour, macro-level theories represent social, economic, political, and cultural determinism. Microsociological theories, on the other hand, offer analysis of society in terms of individual experience and action. Even from an individual level, social structures are comparatively active in influencing beliefs, attitudes and behaviour. Sociological theories describe human nature not only as a duality but as the result of interaction of multiple factors. Contribution of sociological perspective to the study of human nature is related to analysis of interaction and relationship between an individual and society. The author stresses that the challenge and opportunity of contemporary sociology is to develop an integrated and interdisciplinary view of the various aspects of human nature, taking into account diversity and variability of social life.Dina Bite pievēršas socioloģiskajam aspektam skatījumā uz cilvēku, un viņas raksta nosaukums ir “Cilvēks socioloģijas skatījumā”. Autore sniedz ieskatu svarīgākajās socioloģiskajās paradigmās, uzsverot to saistību ar cilvēka dabas interpretāciju. Temata izklāstā izmantots klasiskais socioloģisko teoriju iedalījums makrolīmenī un mikrolīmenī hronoloģiskā secībā, lai izgaismotu to atšķirīgo skatījumu uz cilvēka dabu. D. Bite vispirms aplūko cilvēka definīciju socioloģijā, ņemot vērā, ka socioloģija galvenokārt koncentrējas uz cilvēka un apkārtējās sabiedrības mijiedarbību, kas paredz nebeidzamu diskusiju par jautājumu “kurš bija pirmais – sabiedrība vai cilvēks?”. Cilvēks sociālo teoriju izpratnē ir sarežģīts, dažādu iekšējo impulsu un ārējo vides faktoru ietekmēts rezultāts jeb produkts. Socioloģisko teoriju skatījumā cilvēka daba tiek raksturota ne tikai kā dualitāte, bet kā daudzveidīgu faktoru mijiedarbības rezultāts. Autore uzsver, ka mūsdienu socioloģijas izaicinājums un vienlaikus iespēja ir veidot integrētu un starpdisciplināru skatījumu uz dažādiem cilvēka dabas aspektiem, ņemot vērā sociālās dzīves dažādību un mainību

Cooperation of Local Governments of Latvia

ANOTACIJA Promocijas darba „Pašvaldibu sadarbiba Latvija” merkis – izpetit pašvaldibu sadarbibu Latvija un izvertet sadarbibas ietekmi uz regionu attistibu. Sadarbibas potencials Latvija netiek pilniba izmantots, tadel autore uzskata sadarbibu par attistibas instrumentu. Pašvaldibu darbiba pamatota ar sadarbibas, konkurences un norobežošanas jedzieniem racionalas izveles teorijas perspektiva. Petijuma izmantota kvalitativa pieeja, gadijuma analizes metode. Petijuma rezultati atklaj, ka pašvaldibas Latvija realize norobežošanas un konkurences strategiju. Sadarbibas formas ir nestabilas, fragmentaras, bez ilgtermina merkiem. Noturigu sadarbibas formu veidošanos butiski ierobežo institucionalais sadarbibas ietvars. Atslegas vardi: regionala attistiba, funkcionala policentritate, pašvaldiba, sadarbiba.ANNOTATION The aim of the doctoral theses “Cooperation of Local Governments of Latvia” — to study the cooperation of local governments in Latvia and to evaluate its effect on the regional development. The potential of cooperation is not fully utilized; hence the author finds the cooperation to be a developmental instrument. The activities of governments are grounded on cooperation, competition and isolation concepts according to the rational choice theory. The qualitative approach, the method of case analysis is used. The results show — the governments apply the isolation and competition strategy; the cooperation forms — unstable, fragmentary, lacking longterm aims; the institutional framework of cooperation limits the development of stable forms. Keywords: regional development, functional polycentricity, local government, cooperation

Pašvaldību sadarbības formas Latvijā

Raksta mērķis ir izanalizēt pašvaldību sadarbības formas Latvijā atbilstoši teorētiskajiem uzstādījumiem par sadarbības veidiem un iespējamām priekšrocībām. Darbā izmantota daļēji strukturētu interviju analīze ar pašvaldību pārstāvjiem republikas pilsētās un novados pētniecisko projektu ietvaros. Empīriskā materiāla analīze atklāj, ka Latvijā raksturīgākā sadarbības forma starp pašvaldībām ir informācijas apmaiņa. Tai pašā laikā sadarbības priekšrocības netiek pietiekami apzinātas un izmantotas. Sadarbība ir fragmentāra, situatīva un uz neformāliem kontaktiem balstīta

Relational place-making in Latvian countryside: Straupe and Kaldabruņa case

The paper deals with the relational place-making term describing it through the two examples of Latvian countryside. Straupe and Kaldabruņa have developed strong social networks and cooperation during more than 10 years. Both cases are built on certain values that gather similar people and organisations around them. Administrative and social borders are not as important as the purpose of coming together and maintaining of social values. Relational place-making approach can also give an alternative view of consumers' society, as social agents involved tend to assign specific meaning to their actions and interactions. Relational place-making approach is powerful enough to bring up new ideas and implement new economic and social activities, and both theoretically and practically offer a new logic for trans–territorial relations and rural development