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The teacher’s professional image as a factor in the choice of the teacher’s profession.
No full textThe Master's thesis examines the teacher's professional image as a factor in deciding to pursue a teaching career. Technological and societal changes have reshaped the perception of teaching and teacher professionalism. The study focuses on improving the teacher's professional image to attract young people to schools, identifying it as a key factor influencing career choices in education. In Lithuania, no prior research has confirmed the impact of the teacher's professional image on career decisions. The thesis investigates the connection between this image and the choice of the teaching profession, defining the relationship as its primary object. The research aims to assess this impact and provide recommendations to enhance the teacher's professional image, making the career more appealing. Three objectives are addressed: analyzing the concept and dimensions of the professional image, evaluating its influence on career decisions, and suggesting strategies to improve the perception of teaching. The hypothesis suggests individuals with a positive perception of the teaching profession are more likely to choose this career. The theoretical section explores the professional image's structure and dimensions, including personal appearance, behavior, authority, professionalism, media portrayal, salaries, and working conditions. It also highlights factors influencing career choices. The empirical study employs a survey and regression analysis to measure the professional image's impact on young educators' career decisions. The research highlights the declining professional image of teachers as a challenge, emphasizing the importance of understanding its role in attracting new educators to schools. Findings reveal that elements such as communication, authority, values, and professional development significantly, though modestly, influence the decision to enter teaching. Salary and working conditions are not decisive factors. Novice educators view the profession more positively, and experienced teachers display greater determination to continue their careers. The hypothesis was partially confirmed, with the teacher's professional image playing a small but positive role in career decisions. The study suggests improving public perception of teacher authority, professionalism, and continuous learning to enhance the profession's attractiveness. These insights can inform further research and contribute to educational policy development
Distributed leadership in the context of school digitalization.
No full textThe Master's thesis analyses the expression of distributed leadership in the context of the digitalisation of schools and the interrelationships between these aspects, in order to determine how distributed leadership is related to teachers' use of digital technologies in their work. The Master's thesis consists of three main parts: the first part analyses the academic literature on leadership and school digitalization, examines the concepts of distributed leadership and digitalization, discusses their implications, and highlights the main advantages and disadvantages of school digitalization. The second part of the thesis discusses the methodology of the Master's thesis research, provides a theoretical justification for it, describes the composition of the research instrument, the organisation of the research, the ethical aspects, the research population and the sample. The third part presents the results of the analysis of the data collected during the study, statistical analysis and interpretation of the results obtained, as well as a scientific discussion comparing the data obtained with the results of other authors' studies. The main question addressed in the study: what is the expression of distributed leadership in the context of the digitalization of schools and how these aspects are related? This question was answered by analysing the differences in the expression of distributed leadership and the use of digital technologies between four different schools and by conducting a correlation analysis of these phenomena. In order to better understand the relationship between distributed leadership and school digitalization, its relationship with the different dimensions of distributed leadership was analysed, as well as how the expression of distributed leadership in the context of school digitisation relates to teachers' attitudes towards their digital competences and to the frequency and quality of training focused on developing digital competences. The study did not find statistically significant differences between the four schools' levels of distributed leadership and the frequency of teachers' use of digital technologies. The results of the study showed that the age of teachers is a significant aspect in the context of digital technology use: younger teachers are more likely to use digital technology at work than older teachers. The study also found that the digitisation of schools is most affected by negative factors such as a lack of teacher time, funding and digital equipment. The main results of the study showed a statistically significant positive relationship between distributed leadership, all its dimensions, and the frequency of teachers' use of digital technologies in their work. The strongest correlations were found in the analysis of the frequency of teachers' use of digital technologies with the dimension of communication and collaboration in distributed leadership. Also, distributed leadership and all its dimensions were found to be significantly related to teachers' positive attitudes towards their digital competences and school-based training focused on improving digital technology skills
Pokyčių valdymo dinamika susijungimo ir įsigijimo procesų metu.
No full textThe following master’s thesis is developed to study how leadership styles and communication strategies influence employee engagement, resistance, and the success of cultural integration in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) process. That is to say, the thesis examines how these elements collectively influence M&A outcomes and provides specific, actionable recommendations for managers to enhance engagement and reduce resistance in managing change. The Master thesis consists of four principal parts: analysis of literature, research methodology, research results, and conclusions with recommendations. The literature analysis discusses leadership, communication, and cultural integration in the context of their influence on employee engagement and resistance in M&A. The paper considers the challenges and opportunities that these forces collectively present in managing effective organizational integration during periods of change. The author conducted qualitative research through semi-structured interviews with employees, middlelevel managers, and CEOs of the two M&A undergoing organizations. Thematic analysis was then conducted based on Braun and Clarke’s framework of manual assessment to identify major themes concerning leadership styles, communication strategies, cultural integration, and impacts of these factors on employee engagement and resistance. The research revealed that transformational leadership and communication inclusivity were the most vital driving factors for reducing resistance and increasing engagement. It also brought out that cultural diagnostics and alignment are critical precursors that make integration work well. In addition, clear feedback mechanisms via open communication channels were demonstrated to build trust as well as alignment toward organizational goals. 84 The conclusions and recommendations present the major concepts arising from the literature analysis and the findings of the research. The study strongly advocates resilient communication strategies by managers and adaptive leadership styles, with a focus on achieving cultural alignment as a priority for successful integration. This study contributes to the filling of the gap in the literature on how leadership, communication, and cultural integration interact in M&A in actual practice, giving actionable insights for practitioners. The author believes this study’s findings can be utilized by organizational leaders and change management practitioners and will also contribute to further research on this subject through its practical and academic insights
Performance art and its rejection: the operation of performative social protest in the context of anthropocentrism.
No full textThis study examines the expressions of radical performance art in Eastern Europe, looking at the posthumanist discourse in a sphere of art involving body harm, deprivation or mutilation. Since radical performance art is an effective media of communicating political critique which is often aligned with pathological behaviour, according to previous academic researches. This study strives to understand the paradox of aligning a way of communicating political protest through body harm with pathological behaviour by exploring their meanings and posing the problem – what political ideas/themes/issues are addressed in radical performance art works that might lead to a rejection (alignment with pathology) of the main protest message. The cases of radical performance art are analysed based on interpretative methodology, using a method of discourse analysis. The analysis showed that the most probable reasons for aligning radical performance art with pathological behaviour were based on the themes this said artform is critiquing. Looking through a posthumanist perspective, radical performance art cases usually critiqued hierarchical thinking as well as human exceptionalism. For an artform produced in a context of anthropocentrism, there topics are vital for constructing a valuable political debate on implications of humanist discourse on human exceptionalism and subsequently, the whole living environment. However, context of anthropocentrism makes these topic uncomfortable, after all, no human subject wants to question their position of power. This study shows that radical performance art, involving body harm, deprivation and mutilation, in the context of posthumanism is aligned with pathological behaviour and not seen as valuable form of political critique due to the fact that this form of art expression chooses to critique aspects of political discourse humans are not ready to face. Since humans are being critiqued in radical performance art for enforcing hierarchies, social injustice, capitalism and abusing natural environment causing climate change, there is nowhere to shift the blame, therefore, the only option is to reject the artform altogether
The influence of organisational culture on job satisfaction.
No full textThe object of analysis in the master's thesis is organizational culture and employee job satisfaction. The aim of the thesis is to analyse the impact of organizational culture on employee job satisfaction in Lithuanian cultural institutions based on theoretical assumptions about this relationship. The aim was achieved through the following objectives: 1) to reveal the theoretical links between organizational culture and job satisfaction; 2) to identify the specific characteristics of the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction in cultural organizations; 3) to determine the impact of organizational culture on employee job satisfaction in Lithuanian cultural institutions; and 4) to compare the links between organizational culture and job satisfaction across different employee groups. The study employed methods such as scientific literature analysis, systematization and classification, summarization, surveys, descriptive and multivariate statistical analysis, and content analysis. The thesis comprises an introduction, theoretical, methodological, and empirical sections, followed by conclusions and recommendations. A total of 81 sources were referenced, including 72 in foreign languages, and the work includes one appendix. The theoretical section examines the concept of organizational culture, its structure, and its typologies. It also addresses the definition and significance of job satisfaction, identifies the factors influencing it, and establishes the theoretical framework linking organizational culture to job satisfaction. A research model predicting the influence of organizational culture on job satisfaction was subsequently developed. The analysis of scientific literature substantiated the existence of significant associations between organizational culture and job satisfaction. The methodological section outlines the study design, provides a detailed rationale for the selected research methods and instruments. It also describes the organizational and ethical considerations underpinning the study. The empirical section presents the findings of the research, which reveal that organizational culture exerts a significant influence on employee job satisfaction in Lithuanian cultural institutions. Dimensions such as leadership, organizational leadership, and organizational glue were identified as positively contributing to job satisfaction, whereas dominant organizational characteristics and success criteria were found to have a diminishing effect. Mixed and clan cultures were associated with higher levels of job satisfaction, while hierarchical cultures, characterized by rigid structures and formality, were linked to the lowest satisfaction levels. Furthermore, the impact of organizational culture on job satisfaction was found to differ between managerial and non-managerial employee groups. The thesis concludes with findings and recommendations. The recommendations propose strategic directions for enhancing organizational culture and fostering improved employee job satisfaction
Portfolio construction using minimal variance and mean absolute deviation methods.
No full textThis Master's thesis examines the principles behind the construction of two types of investment portfolios: the minimum variance (also known as the minimum standard deviation) (Min-STD) and the mean absolute deviation (MAD) and compares them with the performance of the S&P 500 index. Using the fundamentals of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and based on historical data of the S&P 500 components from three different 3-year periods, the portfolios were optimized using quadratic and linear programming algorithms. The results showed that Min-STD portfolios tend to be more diversified but require more computational resources, while MAD portfolios are more concentrated and faster to compute. The returns and risk indicators achieved in the test periods show that the Min-STD and MAD portfolios, although underperforming the S&P 500 in some months, can offer similar investment results and can be used as an alternative to a market index. The analysis of the efficient frontiers also shows that, despite their different risk measures, the two approaches are able to form similar sets of efficient portfolios
Citizen e-participation in the context of digital transformation of governance.
No full textThe master's thesis analyzes citizens' e-participation in the context of the digital transformation of public governance. Digital transformation has become a policy priority of the European Union, and the European Commission has emphasized the need for a people-centered digital strategy that ensures a fair, competitive and transparent digital economy. The European Parliament emphasizes the importance of digital transformation in improving public services, promoting transparency, and increasing citizen participation. Digital transformation in the public sector requires new forms of cooperation, new services, and new forms of interaction between citizens and government institutions. It is also necessary to develop new skills and competencies of public officials. Effective digital transformation in the public sector can increase transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement, contributing to better governance and higher-quality public services. Digital transformation leads to inevitable changes in public governance, including the necessity of developing e-participation at various levels. The aim of the study is to reveal the e-participation of citizens in the context of the digital transformation of public governance in local government by conceptualizing and empirically justifying a hypothetical model of e-participation in this context. The thesis consists of three parts: theoretical, methodological, and empirical. In the theoretical part of the thesis, the definition of e-participation is conceptualized, e-participation levels and measures are identified, the legal regulation of e-participation, the concept of public governance and the reasons for change are analyzed. The concepts and levels of digital transformation and digital transformation of public governance are revealed. A hypothetical model of citizens' e-participation in the context of digital transformation of public governance is formed. The methodological part justifies the chosen research methodology, presents, and justifies the chosen research methods, their application and organization. The ethics of the research are defined. A qualitative research strategy was chosen to conduct the research and qualitative research methods were used. The methods of scientific literature analysis, document analysis and partially structured interviews were used to collect data. The results of the research and the formed hypothetical model have close links with each other. The empirical part also identifies findings that have been added to the model. The results of the document analysis show that although e-participation is being developed in eight Lithuanian municipalities, its development and level of effectiveness vary. This shows that Lithuanian municipalities should pay more attention to both the implementation of technologies and the increase of the digital literacy of residents, which is considered one of the biggest obstacles to the development of e-participation. During the semi-structured interview, methods that can promote e-participation were revealed, such as digital literacy training, provision of tools, incentives and awards for citizen activity. This is influenced by the main challenges posed by civil society and government: insufficient involvement of residents, lack of digital literacy, lack of necessary tools, resistance of older residents to technologies, distrust of the security of e-systems, restrictions of the legal framework for the public sector, lack of human resources, lack of staff competence development, limited budget, lack of leadership. The results of the study show that so far municipalities are trying to implement e-participation, develop mechanisms and tools, but the potential has not yet been exploited
The influence of leadership competencies on the performance of state museums.
No full textThis paper investigates the relationship between leadership competencies and performance results in state museums of Lithuania. Effective leadership competencies are of utmost importance for successful museum management; however, state museums are subject to vertical forms of management with little freedom to operate their chosen way. Therefore, the following research question are posed: 1) what leadership competencies do directors of successful state museums possess? And 2) how are different leadership competencies related to museum performance results? State museums are budget institutions that have to balance traditional cultural heritage preservation with modern management approaches under ministerial regulations. This creates a unique environment that influences how leadership competencies manifest and impact performance. The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of leadership competencies on Lithuanian state museum performance results. The goal is to create an empirically validated model showing how leadership competencies impact museum performance results. In order to explore the relationship between leadership competencies and museum performance, a statistical analysis of performance indicators was conducted in addition to interviews with museum directors. The collective case analysis strategy was used in the research to carry out a comprehensive examination of specific museums, with the aim of discerning patterns in the manifestation of leadership. Employing case analysis is especially beneficial when exploring organizational phenomena, as it facilitates a structured comparison of management processes and their consequences. Based on the results of empirical analysis, the theoretical model of leadership competencies’ impact on museum performance was adapted to fit the state museum of Lithuania
Dinaminės kainodaros įtaka vartotojų pasitenkinimui daugiakanalioje mažmeninėje prekyboje.
No full textShort description of the thesis: This paper explores the application of dynamic pricing in omni-channel retail and its impact on consumer satisfaction. By constructing a theoretical framework and using quantitative analysis methods, this paper studies how dynamic pricing affects consumers' immediate and long-term satisfaction through mediating variables such as trust and price fairness and analyzes the role of moderating variables such as price sensitivity and channel preference. The question with this thesis: In the context of omnichannel retail, what is the specific impact of dynamic pricing on consumer satisfaction? Is the impact significant? Are there other variables (such as trust, price fairness) mediating this process? The aim of this thesis: This research aims to systematically analyze the impact of dynamic pricing in an omnichannel retail environment on consumer satisfaction and establish its conceptual model, focusing on how dynamic pricing can simultaneously bring about positive (such as personalization, competitive pricing) and negative (such as price fluctuations, perceived unfairness) effects, and explore the role of mediating mechanisms, so as to fully understand its impact on consumer behavior, trust, and overall satisfaction. The main tasks of the thesis: 1. Explore the application of dynamic pricing in omnichannel retail and its role in channel management. 2. Evaluate the dual impact of dynamic pricing on consumer satisfaction, including positive (personalization and competitive pricing) and negative (price fluctuations and perceived unfairness). 3. Construct a theoretical model to analyze the relationship between dynamic pricing and consumer satisfaction and the role of other key mediating variables. 4. Propose suggestions for optimizing dynamic pricing strategies to balance corporate profitability and consumer satisfaction. Research methods used in thesis: This study adopts a quantitative research method and collects data through a questionnaire survey, covering key variables such as price fairness, trust, immediate and long-term satisfaction. The data are statistically analyzed using SPSS software, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and moderation and mediation effect analysis. Research and results obtained: 1. Dynamic pricing significantly impacts immediate and long-term satisfaction by influencing consumers’ perception of price fairness and trust. 2. Price-sensitive consumers are more sensitive to the negative impact of dynamic pricing, while high transparency and consistency can mitigate this impact. 3. Dynamic pricing personalization strategies are particularly effective in improving consumer experience and long-term satisfaction. Conclusions of the thesis: Dynamic pricing strategies excel in enhancing personalized shopping experiences, optimizing resource allocation, and improving long-term satisfaction. However, when price fluctuations lack transparency or fairness, it may lead to a decline in consumer trust, especially for consumers with high price sensitivity. This study verifies the flexibility and applicability of dynamic pricing in an omni-channel retail environment, and provides practical suggestions for retailers to optimize pricing strategies and improve consumer satisfaction
Sensory marketing evaluation of e-commerce websites with artificial intelligence research problem.
No full textThis thesis examines the influence of AI-enhanced visual sensory marketing on user engagement, trust, and purchasing behavior in e-commerce platforms, with a focus on cultural differences between Asian and European markets. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the research investigates how AI-driven design features impact Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), and Behavioral Intentions (BI) in adopting AI-enhanced interfaces. A quantitative research approach was employed, combining structured surveys and A/B testing to evaluate user responses to two customized website designs tailored to regional preferences. Metrics analyzed include call-to-action button clarity, perceived checkout security, and product information adequacy. Data were collected through a stratified random sampling method, involving 100 participants (75% from Asia and 25% from Europe) to ensure robust cross-cultural comparisons. Key findings indicate that Asian users demonstrated a preference for vibrant, interactive designs, rating visual appeal at 6.3/7 and trustworthiness at 6.1/7. European users favored simpler, structured layouts, giving visual appeal and trust ratings of 5.7/7 and 5.5/7, respectively. Asian participants scored usability at 6.1/7 and satisfaction at 6.0/7, reflecting a preference for engaging and personalized features, while Europeans, scoring usability at 5.5/7 and satisfaction at 5.4/7, emphasized transparency and security. This study recommends businesses targeting Asian markets prioritize dynamic, interactive designs with gamified features and personalized AI solutions, while those targeting European markets should focus on structured layouts, visible security indicators, and compliance with privacy standards like GDPR. The findings highlight the necessity of culturally adaptive strategies for optimizing user experiences and driving global e-commerce success. Future research could explore longitudinal impacts of AI-enhanced designs and expand the scope to include additional sensory elements like auditory and haptic feedback