The Scientific Journal of Rezeknes Augstskola
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A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING MIGRANT SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM LATVIAN EMIGRANT SURVEYS
Get PDFPeople migrate for a variety of reasons, not only economic ones, but most expect to increase their quality of life and happiness by changing their place of residence. Most research on the integration of Eastern European migrants focuses primarily on their structural integration into the labour market, much less is known about the implications of migration on the general subjective well-being (SWB) of individuals. The terms ‘SWB’ and ‘happiness’ refer to people’s evaluations of their life which can be either cognitive or affective (e.g. Diener, 2009). From a theoretical perspective, migration decision-making can still be encompassed within a utility-maximising framework. Now, however, utility is captured by subjective judgements of satisfaction rather than monetary income. Quantitative data from two waves of a large-scale longitudinal survey of Latvian emigrants (2014 -2019 ) were used to identify the determinants of SWB and explore the impact of different factors (such as changes in family status, employment or health) on changes in life satisfaction over time
PARAMETERS IN FORMULATIONS AND SOLUTIONS OF INTRODUCTORY PROBABILITY PROBLEMS
Get PDFMathematical problems with parameters offer a higher semiotic complexity level of mathematical activities. The topicality of the research is determined by the fact that there are no studies on types of parameters in formulations and solutions of probability problems. The study aims are to analyse the current literature and propose an approach to classify parameters depending on their nature. Methodology - qualitative content analysis of probability problems from published textbooks and research papers. The main result - a parameter classification and interpretation scheme for introductory probability problems. The proposed parameter classification can help differentiate and individualise the study of probability theory and statistics
SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW ON AGENTIC ENGAGEMENT: CLARIFYING A CO-CREATION PERSPECTIVE
Get PDFCo-creation of learning has been conceptualised as a learner-centred pedagogical approach with implications for students’ proactivity, metacognitive, and collaborative involvement. Due to the complexity of the concept, it is difficult to distinguish and measure in practice, with studies reporting measures for co-creative practices mostly in the context of higher education. This paper reviews the literature on student agentic engagement in Web of Science, ERIC and Scopus, providing links to the existing views on learning co-creation at schools. The research instruments developed for studying agentic engagement and autonomy support are discussed in connection to examining co-creation at the secondary education level
AUTISM AND CREATIVITY: A SOCIAL ROBOTICS APPLICATION
Get PDFThis paper focuses on the relationship of genius with certain forms of autism. It synthesizes some results of two ongoing research activities. The first one concerns the investigation of creativity and the arts in the digital age, while the second an educational experience to support the socialization of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.The educational experience was based on storytelling, drama, and programmable toy robots.Our research emerged that low functioning autistic people may exhibit creative attitudes, but the creativity of educators has a crucial role in stimulating their creativity.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF URBAN AGRICULTURE IN LATVIA – A CASE STUDY
Get PDFUrban agriculture is developing rapidly in the world, paying significant, often primary attention not only to the economic but also to the social and environmental functions of the practice. Urban agriculture in Latvia is relatively underdeveloped, most of the practice is realized in small amounts in households for self-consumption. Similarly, evaluating produced volumes and results in the context of commercial practice and community and public projects, it is in a developmental stage. Urban agriculture in Latvia has also been little researched so far, and the practice does not have a specific legal status that would enable precise determination of the scope of the practice, financial and trend analysis. However, the practice is developing, especially in the form of community gardens. The aim of this study is to determine and describe economic and social aspects of urban agriculture in Latvia. In order to achieve the aim, a systematic theoretical review was used to determine the definition and boundaries of the practice of urban agriculture, analysis and synthesis methods were used to identify and characterize trends, and a case study was used to summarize the economic and social aspects of the practice specific to Latvia. Results of the research confirm that social aspects dominate in urban agriculture in Latvia - in aims, motivation, functions and advantages of the practice. But in terms of risks, the most important are economic aspects, which are also the main hindering factors in the development of urban agriculture in Latvia
ENERGY AUDIT INFORMATION SYSTEM
Get PDFThe opportunities provided by energy audits to improve the competitiveness of companies by reducing energy consumption and introducing energy-efficient solutions also allow for achieving the environmental goals set by the European Union and Latvia in relation to climate neutrality. It is important to consider the results of energy audits in the development of both local and regional and national policies, thus setting more precise results to be achieved. At present, there is no unified energy audit development information system in Latvia, in which all audit stages and calculations could be performed; this would reduce clerical and calculation errors and allow data to be predicted and used in policy development, research. Within the framework of the work, the authors researched the concept of energy audit, its process and the results to be achieved by companies by implementing energy efficient measures, as well as the policy goals of the European Union and Latvia in environmental improvement programs. The paper summarizes and analyses the programs and methods available in Latvia, which are used to develop energy audits of companies, as well as the practices of other countries and their results.The research goal is to develop the specification of the energy audit information system, based on the analysis of the used energy audit information systems. Based on the findings, the authors developed a specification of the program\u27s energy audit information system requirements, which is suitable for the Latvian market
CONCEPTUALIZING THE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH OF AN ONLINE CURRICULUM FOR VIRTUE EDUCATION IN LATVIA
Get PDFThe necessity and unavoidability of moral education in school is well established, but there is still a lack of theoretical knowledge base (know-what) regarding what works effectively in character education. This paper addresses the conceptualization of a 3-year effectiveness research of the online curriculum for virtue education from grades 1 to 9. The goal of the research is to create new theoretical knowledge about what means effective moral education and about what makes an online curriculum for virtue education effective in Latvian context. The effectiveness research uses the randomised controlled trial approach and adopts an experimental trial design, using pre-, intermediate- and post-test with experiment and control groups clustered at the class level in three strata: grades 2-4, grades 5-7, and grades 7-9. The intervention will consist of the implementation of the full virtue education curriculum in the respective grades. A multicomponent questionnaire for pupils and focus-group discussion with teachers are used for data collection. The curriculum is highly coherent with global, national and sector priorities and has a strong potential for enhancing the quality of education and contributing to societal well-being in Latvia
OPPORTUNITIES OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BLENDED LEARNING
Get PDFSo far one of the 21st century biggest global events that brought about unforeseen changes in education was the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-19 virus. Measures to reduce the spread of the virus have made it necessary to replace traditional face-to-face education with alternative options, such as distance learning or remote learning. Blended learning, which combines face-to-face and online learning and is seen as a solution for future education, has also become relevant during the pandemic, providing an opportunity to promote the integration of digital technologies into learning process and to support equal access to education for all. The article deals with a case study to explore the principles of the implementation of blended learning and pilot them in a higher education institution. Based on the theory review, it has been concluded that blended learning is defined as a method and an approach, as well as a curriculum that combines face-to-face learning with online learning. The data have been collected by the content analysis of documents, questionnaires for students and lecturers and an interview with the director of a higher education institution. The obtained data allow to develop the recommendations for the management of higher education institution, lecturers and students for the implementation of blended learning in the study process.
SOCIAL SELF-DETERMINATION OF A SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT IN THE CONTEXT OF HUMANIZATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS
Get PDFWe regard the social self-determination of senior secondary school students as the basis for their education as citizens of Latvia and citizens of Europe. This underpins the need to actualize the problem of social self-determination. The aim of the research is to determine the essence and structure of social self-determination of senior secondary school students and to identify the conditions for the development of social self-determination in secondary school students in the process of education. Research methods include observation, questionnaire, survey, comparison, experiment, and mathematical statistics. Research results are the following:- as a result of the study, there was determined the content and structure of social self-determination as a systemic personal formation, representing the relationship of two components: citizenship and intercultural identity; - the conditions for the development of social self-determination have been identified, including the humanization of the educational process based on a certain system of moral values and beliefs; - the key strategy for organizing the educational process has been suggested: changing the content of education by introducing a cultural component, which would contribute to a change in all structural components, from the goal to the result; - this implies a change in the procedural aspect of education: the organization of a personal cultural dialogue; the dialogue is regarded as the basis for communication in the pedagogical process; - the key values of secondary school students were determined in the process of a fact-finding experiment.
DEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL VALIDATION OF THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL SOCIAL CAPITAL SCALE (MSCS)
Get PDFSocial capital has been studied as one of the most important external resources that contribute to overcoming difficulties of individuals, the ability to adapt and show solidarity in times of crisis, preventive behavior. However, no specific assessment tool has been developed and validated for the measurement of social capital in Latvian. The present study aimed to develop and perform an initial validation of the Multidimensional Social Capital Scale (MSCS) in a Latvian adult sample. The developed theoretical concept based on rapid review covers such types of social capital as bonding, bridging and linking, and there are two dimensions in each of these types: cognitive and structural. Data were collected from a representative sample of Latvian inhabitants (N=1003), within a framework of the National research program “Life with COVID-19” in September 2020. As a result, a four-component structure was obtained. MSCS covers only the cognitive dimension of all three types. One type of bonding (Shared values and perceived social support for family members and close friends), one type of bridging (Perceived social support for friends and acquaintances), and two types of linking (Institutional trust and Attitude towards laws and norms). The items are internally consistent on all scales (Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .80 to .90). Discrimination indices generally meet the scientific requirements falling within the range (.20 – .80). Based on Exploratory (EFA) and Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) a four-factor structure of MSCS was confirmed (k = 16) in two samples. CFA results demonstrated that the MSCS was a valid and reliable multidimensional scale, which was invariant across both samples. The present findings indicate the validity and reliability of the MSCS for the Latvian population.