Promocijas darbs

Elektroniskā versija nesatur pielikumusANOTĀCIJA LATVIEŠU VALODĀ Promocijas darba mērķis ir izstrādāt ilgtspējīga patēriņa integrētas pārvaldības pamatnostādnes, pētot Latvijas mājsaimniecību patēriņa, dabas vides un sociālekonomiskās vides mijiedarbības un vides slodžu cēloņsakarības. Pētījuma pirmā daļa ir veltīta ilgtspējīga patēriņa pētniecības un tā pārvaldības pieeju teorētiskam vērtējumam. Pētījuma otrajā daļā autors pēta dabas vides un sociālekonomiskās vides mijiedarbības, analizējot patēriņa slodzes vidē, vides slodžu sadalījumu, patēriņa apjomu un struktūru ietekmējošos virzošos spēkus un makrovides faktorus. Trešajā posmā tiek pētīts ilgtspējīga patēriņa pārvaldības ietvars, analizējot ilgtspējīga patēriņa pārvaldības pieejas un instrumentus, interešu grupas un to sadarbības tīklus un integrētās pārvaldības pieejas. Darbs noslēdzas ar secinājumiem un lietišķajām rekomendācijām. Atslēgas vārdi: ekoloģiskā pēda, ilgtspējīgs patēriņš, pārvaldības instrumenti, patēriņa pārvaldība, sadarbības tīkli.Anotācija angļu valodā Goal of the PhD thesis is to develop integrated sustainable consumption governance framework, studying interaction between natural and social-economical environments and environmental pressures of Latvian households’ consumption patterns. The first part of the study is devoted to theoretical research on sustainable consumption and its governance approaches. In the second part author explores interactions between natural and social-economic environments, analyzing environmental pressures of consumption, decomposition of these pressures and influence of driving forces and macro-environmental factors on consumption level and structure. The third stage of the study addresses sustainable consumption governance framework by analyzing sustainable consumption governance approaches and instruments, interest groups and integrated governance approaches. Finally the main conclusions and recommendations to improve sustainable consumption governance are developed. Key words: consumption governance, ecological footprint, networks, policy instruments, sustainable consumption

LABOUR PROTECTION SPECIALISTS COMPETENCE MODEL

The number of fatal accidents in the workplace in Latvia in 2014 was higher than the average in the European Union and continues to grow. One remedial action for preventing accidents is to improve the competence of labour protection specialists. The aim of this study was to evaluate and improve a competence development model for labour protection specialists, as well as to make an expert assessment of the model. This was carried out by experts with experience in the implementation of educational programs and other professional activities. The experts ranked highly all the parameters of the model and determined that the competence model would be useful for improving labour protection and other specialists’ training, study and practice

IMPLEMENTATION OF PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY OF LABOUR PROTECTION SPECIALISTS IN WORK ENVIRONMENT

Human health and wellness are significantly affected by the observance of labour and civil protection rules both in the work environment and in social life. They are also affected by adequate training which is organised according to the age group and situation in order to reduce the formal attitude to the observance of all types of safety rules. Labour protection specialists themselves will be those who will respect and ensure the observance of the labour and civil protection rules. The aim of this study was to research the implementation of pedagogical activities of labour safety specialists in the work environment. The methodologies used in the research were semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and the analysis of the qualitative data and comments, submitted by labour protection specialists electronically, to clarify the implementation of pedagogical activities in the context of the UNESCO concept of sustainable development of education with the aim to reduce formal attitude towards the observance of labour and civil protection rules, using the model of ecological approach - Process–Person–Context–Time. The text analysis was carried out using the software programme Weft QDA. By improving labour protection specialists’ pedagogical competence, the staff’s (employers’, employees’) expertise also improves or partially improves

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF NON-OBSERVANCE OF WORK SAFETY REGULATIONS

Non-observance of work safety regulations contribute to the worsening of employees’ health condition, development of occupational diseases and the increase of the possibility of accidents. Accidents happen because they have definite causes – the attitude of employers and employees towards work safety. The aim of this study was to research the psychological aspects of non-observance of work safety regulations from the work safety specialists’ point of view. The methodology of research – studies of publications pertaining to the research theme, unstructured observations, analysis of the essays written by work safety specialists about the attitude towards work safety, motivation to observe its regulations and ignoring the regulations. The text analysis was carried out using the software programme Weft QDA

Erratum:The Unintended Side Effects of Bioplastics: Carbon, Land, and Water Footprints (One Earth (2020) 3(1) (45–53), (S2590332220303055), (10.1016/j.oneear.2020.06.016))

(One Earth 3, 45–53, July 24, 2020) In the originally published version of this article, the authors inadvertently used global volumes of bioplastics in plastic packaging instead of European volumes for Figure 1C. After noticing this, the authors recalculated European bioplastic packaging consumption, and as such, Figure 1 and its legend have been corrected in the online article (as shown below) to reflect all data sources used for estimating European bioplastic volumes in Figure 1C. In the Experimental Procedures, the Data and Code Availability section has been updated, and the section “Estimation of European Bioplastic Volumes” has been added. Additionally, reference 69 is new, and two incorrect citations of a Table 3 (which is not present in the article) have been changed to Figure 2 and Table 2 on pages 49 and 51, respectively. These changes do not affect the conclusions of the article because Figure 1 is not used in later calculations; it is rather an illustrative description of the role of bioplastics in the current European packaging market. The authors sincerely apologize to readers for any confusion that may have resulted from this oversight. [Figure presented] [Figure presented

The Unintended Side Effects of Bioplastics:Carbon, Land, and Water Footprints

The environmental impacts of plastics have become an important political and academic topic. One of the main applications of plastics is packaging, a product with a very short service life, leading to a wide range of environmental problems. In this Perspective, we look at the potential environmental consequences (in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and land and water footprints) of substitution of petrochemical plastics used for packaging in Europe with bioplastics. The research is based on a review of life cycle impact assessment studies and additional calculations to assess the footprints of this substitution. The results demonstrate that currently it does not seem feasible to replace all the petrochemical plastic packaging with bioplastic because this will inevitably result in a considerable increase of land and water use. Unless we find ways to decrease plastic demand, most of the efforts to stop plastic pollution are likely to prove temporary and inadequate

EXPERT EVALUATION OF FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCE IN LABOUR AND CIVIL PROTECTION STUDIES

Labour protection specialists need to improve and develop their competence in order to ensure a safe, healthy and sustainable working environment in the relevant economic sector. Competence and its components, as well as the criteria and parameters are very important factors in the formation and development of competence in adult education. The aim of the study was to carry out expert evaluation of the developed competence components’ model in labour and civil protection as well as the criteria and parameters, basing on the analysis of theoretical knowledge. The methodological basis included studies, analyses and evaluation of the relevant publications in the context of the competence - components of competence their criteria and carrying out an expert evaluation of the component model, its parameters and criteria. The expert evaluation found that it is necessary to replace the communication component in the model of competence components with the component of intelligibility. The evaluation of intuition, skills, attitude and professional ethics are those were in most cases consensus was reached, thus being unanimously evaluated. Unanimous were also the evaluations of knowledge, creativity, emotional intelligence and reflection. A relatively low level of consensus was reached in the evaluation of communication. Attitude as a component of competence was unanimously ranked first in terms of significance

Opportunities to increase financial well-being by investing in environmental, social and governance with respect to improving financial literacy under covid-19 : The case of Latvia

Funding Information: Funding: The paper was funded by the Latvian Council of Science, the project “The Impact of COVID-19 on Sustainable Consumption Behaviors and Circular Economy (Nr. lzp-2020/2-0317)”. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The latest studies reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed investors in developed economies to focus more on the value attached to environmental and social responsibilities. Unfortunately, socially responsible investment and compliance with environmental, social and governance criteria are not given enough priority in Latvia at present. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the willingness of Latvians to invest in assets that meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and factors influencing investors’ choice based on their financial literacy. Different views on sustainable investments, socially responsible investments and the relevance of environmental, social and governance criteria from private investors’ perspectives were analyzed to identify factors influencing investment decisions in favour of sustainable investments. Quantitative analysis was carried out to reveal the regularities between financial literacy, the willingness to invest to meet the ESG criteria and the level of education and income of the Latvian population, as well as their savings/investment experience. Such statistical methods as descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing were applied to perform an analysis of the results. The authors’ findings include the importance of sustainable investing to Latvian society, changes of attitude towards ESG investing in different private investors’ groups under the COVID-19 crisis, and the effects of these changes on the financial well-being of the population and, on the basis of these findings, have come to the conclusion that the willingness to invest in the assets that follow environmental, social and governance criteria depends on the level of education, savings/investment experience and income level.publishersversionPeer reviewe

FOREST ENGINEERING STUDENTS COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT IN ADULT EDUCATION

Forest engineering students need to develop their competence in order to ensure a sustainable working environment in the relevant   sector of economy. The aim of the study was to clarify the dynamics of the development of the students’ competence in the learning process. The methodological basis of the study included the analyses of the relevant publications in the context of competence and adult education. The authors’ personal reflections and work experience at the Forest Faculty of Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologieswere taken into consideration. To assess the development of students’ competence in the forest engineering studies a survey was carried out. Within the framework of the study and as the result of improved adult studies, there was a significant improvement of students` competence in the field of forest engineering. The self-assessment of competence at the end of the course was higher than at the beginning of it.

Does Car Sharing Contribute to Urban Sustainability from User-Motivation Perspectives?

Funding Information: Funding: The paper was funded by Latvian Council of Science, the project ”The Impact of COVID-19 on Sustainable Consumption Behaviours and Circular Economy” (Nr. lzp-2020/2-0317). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Mobility, its current state and development perspectives in the future creates challenges with respect to sustainability, the first of which is the uncontrolled increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the last few decades, while road transport is one of the “sinners” creating long-term negative impact. The second is the dominance of car travel and car usage in the passenger transportation segment before the latest COVID-19 pandemic accelerated environmental problems. Although recent trends show new, greener patterns in consumption, there is still a relatively low share of consumers acknowledging the importance of sustainable and green preferences. This research study aims to investigate car sharing from users’ perspectives and to determine the most significant factors influencing their choice of sharing services to ensure upscaling of car sharing and, thus, contribute to urban sustainability. This research study contributes to the overall scientific discussion on car sharing and its role within urban sustainability, particularly with the following: (1) deeper investigation of car sharing and its users motivation perspectives in Latvia; (2) analyses of the most significant motivational factors for car-sharing users and aspects of sustainability; and (3) the insight into the generational differences triggering a number of car-sharing users. The existing and potential users of car sharing were surveyed in order to determine the motivational factors for its usage and attitudes towards it. Socio-demographic variables in statistical analysis were used to identify economic and environmental factors that meaningfully influence the choice of car-sharing services. The results of this study can support further development in new car-sharing business models and the value proposition for consumers in Latvia, as well as preparing policy recommendations on the promotion of sustainable transport. These findings are also useful to academics for the investigation of recent trends in car sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic.publishersversionPeer reviewe