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Turizmas COVID-19 pandemijos akivaizdoje. Tvaraus regioninio vystymosi link.
No full textT&T confirms its importance, as it contributes significantly to global GDP and creates jobs worldwide. These numbers began to decline as the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world, and more than 90% of the population came under restrictions. Travel restrictions and lockdowns hit the T&T sector hard, responding together with economic indicators. International tourism is almost at a halt, and traditional, unsustainable business models are not working any more. In order to survive, the transformation of the T&T sector is essential. This raises the question whether the crisis situation could not only have negative effects, but at the same time could be the moment for the long-needed chance to rethink tourism, considering a regional and more sustainable approach. As travel restrictions cover the world, the focus is on the regional level, the area that has the right to make territorially and regionally relevant decisions. The aim of the research is to evaluate the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects on tourism, considering whether it could be a change towards sustainable regional development. Methods of analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, statistical data analysis, situation modelling, and logical conclusions are applied, to estimate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourism, to assess the challenges and opportunities in tourism in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to evaluate possible changes in tourism towards sustainable regional development
Депопуляция прибрежных сельских районов Литвы – может ли демографическая ситуация стабилизироваться благодаря региональным паркам?
No full textRegional parks in Lithuania preserve the most valuable physical and cultural components of the landscape, NATURA 2000 habitats, etc. Usually, they are located in natural or semi-natural landscapes of rural areas. These territories, however, have a higher depopulation rate than urbanised districts. Still, conservation priority areas were expected to attract young families as permanent residents and make their population more stable. This study aims to investigate changes in the rural population in three regional parks of the Klaipėda county to determine the number of abandoned villages (with 0 residents) and vanishing ones (with a population < 5), as compared to territories with no conservation regime. The article examines migration as one of the determinants of depopulation. Analysis of national and local statistics, institutional documents, and structured interviews revealed that the conservation regime applied in regional parks did not necessarily encourage local people to stay or newcomers to arrive. Proximity to the sea and towns with developed social infrastructure remains a priority when looking for a residence in the countryside
Advancing cyanobacteria biomass estimation from hyperspectral observations: demonstrations with HICO and PRISMA imagery /
No full textRetrieval of the phycocyanin concentration (PC), a characteristic pigment of, and proxy for, cyanobacteria biomass, from hyperspectral satellite remote sensing measurements is challenging due to uncertainties in the remote sensing reflectance (∆Rrs) resulting from atmospheric correction and instrument radiometric noise. Although several individual algorithms have been proven to capture local variations in cyanobacteria biomass in specific regions, their performance has not been assessed on hyperspectral images from satellite sensors. Our work leverages a machine-learning model, Mixture Density Networks (MDNs), trained on a large (N = 939) dataset of collocated in situ chlorophyll-a concentrations (Chla), PCs, and remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) measurements to estimate PC from all relevant spectral bands. The performance of the developed model is demonstrated via PC maps produced from select images of the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) and Italian Space Agency's PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA) using a matchup dataset. As input to the MDN, we incorporate a combination of widely used band ratios (BRs) and line heights (LHs) taken from existing multispectral algorithms, that have been proven for both Chla and PC estimation, as well as novel BRs and LHs to increase the overall cyanobacteria biomass estimation accuracy and reduce the sensitivity to ∆Rrs. When trained on a random half of the dataset, the MDN achieves uncertainties of 44.3%, which is less than half of the uncertainties of all viable optimized multispectral PC algorithms. The MDN is notably better than multispectral algorithms at preventing overestimation on low (10 mg m−3). According to our extensive assessments, the developed model is anticipated to enable practical PC products from PRISMA and HICO, therefore the model is promising for planned hyperspectral missions, such as the Plankton Aerosol and Cloud Ecosystem (PACE). This advancement will enhance the complementary roles of hyperspectral radiometry from satellite and low-altitude platforms for quantifying and monitoring cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms at both large and local spatial scales
An impact assessment of beach wrack and litter on beach ecosystem services to support coastal management at the Baltic Sea /
No full textAs accumulation zones, sandy beaches are temporal sinks for beach wrack and litter, both often seen as nuisances to tourists. Consequently, there is a need for beach management and an enhanced political interest to evaluate their ecosystem services. We applied a new online multidisciplinary assessment approach differentiating between the provision, potential, and flow at German and Lithuanian beaches (Southern Baltic Sea). We selected a set of services and assessed four beach scenarios developed accordingly to common management measures (different beach wrack and litter accumulations). We conducted comparative assessments involving 39 external experts using spread-sheets and workshops, an online survey as well as a combined data-based approach. Results indicated the relative importance of cultural (52.2%), regulating and maintenance (37.4%), and provisioning services (10.4%). Assessed impact scores showed that the removal of beach wrack is not favorable with regard to the overall ecosystem service provision. Contrarily, the removal of litter can increase the service flow significantly. When removing beach wrack, synergies between services should be used, i.e., use of biomass as material or further processing. However, trade-offs prevail between cultural services and the overall provision of beach ecosystem services (i.e., coastal protection and biodiversity). We recommend developing new and innovative beach cleaning techniques and procedures, i.e., different spatio-temporal patterns, e.g., mechanical vs. manually, daily vs. on-demand, whole beach width vs. patches. Our fast and easy-to-apply assessment approach can support decision-making processes within sustainable coastal management allowing us to show and compare the impacts of measures from a holistic ecosystem services perspective
GIS-based aesthetic appraisal of short-range viewsheds of coastal dune and forest landscapes /
No full textThis paper demonstrates the possibilities of a Geographical Information System (GIS) for investigating and explicating the spatial variation of the short-range viewshed aesthetic appeal in a World Heritage coastal dune and forest area. The study pursues the following objectives: (1) develop and trial a GIS-based algorithm for computing the Aesthetic Appeal Index for a Short-Range Viewshed (ǣ); (2) deliver an output map showing the spatial variation of the computed ǣ values in the target territory and distribution of the zones with high scenic quality and potential aesthetic ecosystem services (PAES); and (3) assess management alternatives in zones with high PAES and high conservation value. This study combines two key innovative aspects. First, it integrates an objective digital map of habitats with subjective scenic preferences of coastal forest and dune landscapes based on psychophysical and cognitive perceptions of scenic beauty. Second, it applies a GIS-based algorithm to translate subjective scenic preferences to an output map of ǣ. The study’s main conclusion is that the combined aesthetic appraisal of the immediate and foreground viewshed of coastal forests and dunes, by applying a specially created GIS algorithm, allows an assessment of the scenic quality of this landscape reliably in statistical terms
Spiritual assistance as an integral part of spiritual support.
No full textThe spiritual aspect is one of essential components of human existence; therefore, it becomes an integral part of holistic support to a human being. Christian spiritual assistance in its various forms is becoming gradually established in our country, and there are attempts to define it in both juridical and theological or psychological aspects. Therefore, it requires a deeper glance and a more detailed analysis. In relation to this problem, the article deals with features of Christian spiritual assistance in the context of perception of spirituality and its relation to psychological support. Relevant approaches to spirituality, features of spiritual and psychological counselling as well as importance of Christ-centred spiritual assistance are discussed
From nobles to peasants: women refugees in the Deluge Period in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
No full textAlthough war refugees are mostly a subject of research involving war and military conflict in the 20th and 21st centuries, forced migration also accompanied many earlier military conflicts. This article focuses on war refugees during the Deluge period in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when the Commonwealth was simultaneously at war with Muscovy (1654–1667) and Sweden (1665–1660). At that time, the idea of offering temporary shelter for refugees was increasingly recognised, and relief for refugees gradually became a concern of the nascent modern state. In the Commonwealth, the Cossack uprising and the aforementioned wars of the mid-17th century made the issue of war refugees particularly relevant. The article first clarifies the terms that were used to refer to migration and war refugees (zbieg, advenus, profugus, exul and wygnaniec). Later, it examines whether state institutions in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), a constituent part of the Commonwealth, attempted to deal with refugees’ problems. Finally, on the basis of scarce and fragmentary sources, the author makes an attempt to trace the fate of women refugees from different parts of the GDL in Žemaitija (Samogitia) in 1654–1667, and their behavioural strategies, and to answer the question to what extent the decisions of the women refugees were independent, or dependent on the will of their spouse or their family
Natural and anthropogenic factors shaping the shoreline of Klaipėda, Lithuania /
No full textPort of Klaipėda is situated in a complex hydrological system, between the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea, at the Klaipėda strait in the South-Eastern part of the Baltic Sea. It has almost 300 m of jetties separating the Curonian Spit and the mainland coast, interrupting the main path of sediment transport through the South-Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Due to the Port of Klaipėda reconstruction in 2002 and the beach nourishment project, which was started in 2014, the shoreline position change tendency was observed. Shoreline position measurements of various periods can be used to derive quantitative estimates of coastal process directions and intensities. These data can be used to further our understanding of the scale and timing of shoreline changes in a geological and socio-economic context. This study analyzes long-and short-term shoreline position changes before and after the Port of Klaipėda reconstruction in 2002. Positions of historical shorelines from various sources were used, and the rates (EPR, NSM, and SCE) of shoreline changes have been assessed using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS). An extension of ArcGIS K-means clustering was applied for shoreline classification into different coastal dynamic stretches. Coastal development has changed in the long-term (1984–2019) perspective: the eroded coast length increased from 1.5 to 4.2 km in the last decades. Coastal accumulation processes have been restored by the Port of Klaipėda executing the coastal zone nourishment project in 2014
Challenges caused by the COVID-19 quarantine for families raising children with disabilities: compatibility between working from home and childcare /
No full textParents with children having special needs go through extremely difficult emotional, psychological experiences and physical fatigue due to unavailability of help and lack of access to social services. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation since the need for cohesion and the importance of social responsibility were not addressed well by the public authorities. The unavailability of help is believed to have plunged parents even further into exclusion. If before the pandemic, parents felt stigmatized, the situation after the COVID-19 pandemic became significantly worse. Thus, with the help of the phenomenological research, we aimed to reveal the challenges faced by families raising children with disabilities in combining aspects of work and childcare, by analyzing the attitudes and experiences of the respondents. The study is relevant for both public authorities and parents raising children with special needs in the context of developing social inclusion and family support network respectively