Journals of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences
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MAPPING GREEN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN LATVIAN ENTERPRISES: INSIGHTS FOR SUSTAINABLE GOVERNANCE AND ESG REPORTING
Get PDFAchieving sustainability goals has become a key priority in today’s business environment, encouraging companies to reassess their internal governance mechanisms and develop new functions that support long-term value creation. One increasingly emphasized aspect of sustainable governance is Green Human Resource Management (GHRM), which refers to the strategic integration of environmental and sustainability principles into human resource practices. At the same time, the European Union’s new regulatory framework for sustainability reporting — particularly the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) — calls on companies to systematically disclose their performance in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas. As a result, GHRM is being recognized not only as a managerial innovation but also as an essential component in preparing comprehensive sustainability reports.
Although the theoretical foundation and potential benefits of GHRM have been widely discussed in international academic literature, its practical implementation in Latvian enterprises remains underexplored. Existing research tends to focus on higher education institutions or public sector organizations, while the private business sector has received significantly less empirical attention
CIVIC EDUCATION AS A COUNTERMEASURE TO HYBRID THREATS: THE CASE OF LATVIA
Get PDFHybrid threats encompass the combined use of non-military and military techniques to achieve political and military objectives. Russia employs these techniques not only to cultivate the perception of invincibility in its military power as part of psychological warfare but also to discredit Latvia\u27s statehood and democratic institutions and destabilize the domestic political situation. Civic education stands out as a key tool to enhance society\u27s resilience against hybrid threats. Its role includes promoting knowledge, skills, and civic virtues, enabling citizens to defend their democratic states both cognitively and militarily. This paper aims to address the research question: To what extent does Latvia\u27s civic education contribute to strengthening society\u27s resilience to hybrid threats? The research employs in- depth interviews with Latvia\u27s civic education teachers and youth (conducted in November 2023 -- June 2024), along with an analysis of the civic education curriculum. The focus of data gathering and analysis is to comprehend how the youth forms an understanding of Latvia\u27s nation-building and democratic foundations, as well as their civic duty to defend the country
CONTRASTING PERCEPTIONS OF COLD WAR MILITARY LEGACY SITES IN LATVIA: RESIDENTS\u27 ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURS
Get PDFDuring the Cold War, global tensions were reflected in the everyday lives of local people, and these local dimensions in the landscape are visible reminders of the past, even today. In European countries, including Latvia, Cold War legacies are abundant, ranging from Soviet military bases of varying sizes to partisan bunkers and battlefields. Some of the sites and memorials are well-preserved and functional, while others are in a state of decay. The sites built by alien powers or created to resist the Soviets nowadays can be a source of difficulty and conflict among different community groups. Previous studies have explored how the presence of Cold War legacies influences the attitudes and opinions of local people across various groups, the discourse surrounding the legacy, interest in visiting places, and engagement in decision-making processes. Previous studies suggest that attitudes towards the Cold War legacy and behaviors are influenced by residents\u27 age group, nationality, and personal connection to the legacy (Seljamaa et al., 2018; Paulus & Brekke, 2022). Miller (2019) states that younger residents are more eager to learn about these sites, while older ones who have experienced the occupation period still feel uncomfortable around such sites
ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET: PERCEPTIONS, TRANSFORMATION, AND INVOLVEMENT AT VIDZEME UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCE
Get PDFTraditionally, an entrepreneurial university is viewed as a transformative institution that serves as a hub for innovation and societal impact. It integrates entrepreneurship into its vision and extends beyond the conventional roles of teaching and research by embedding economic and social development into its core mission. An entrepreneurial university acts as a driver of economic growth and innovation through entrepreneurial education, research commercialization, start-up incubation, and industry collaboration.
In collaboration with 12 partner institutions, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (ViA) explored the perspectives of the university community regarding entrepreneurial and innovation-related activities, attitudes, challenges, and intentions toward adopting an entrepreneurial university mindset. The study also aimed to identify key challenges and motivational factors that influence the development of an entrepreneurial university mindset at each institution. A survey at ViA was conducted among various university stakeholders, including students (62%), researchers and academic staff (20%), professional and administrative staff (14%), and university leadership (4%)
METHODOLOGIES FOR CLIMATE NEUTRALITY ASSESSMENT. REVIEW
Get PDFUnder the research project Decision-making Support System for Achieving Climate Neutrality Goals simulation modelling is used as a method for assessing climate neutrality across six sectors. To see if simulation modelling is still widely used and learn from latest trends in climate neutrality assessment across sectors and scales, ten suitable studies from 2022 to 2025 were selected. Key metrics range from life cycle assessment boundaries and greenhouse gas accounting to scenario modelling, carbon intensity, and indicators of strategy and mitigation.
 
GENERATIVE AI AS A CATALYST FOR TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES
Get PDFThe rapid advancement of Generative AI (GenAI) technology offers unprecedented opportunities for creating deeply personal, impactful, and novel interactive experiences. Its capability to generate photorealistic content with increasing speed and sophistication, coupled with the ability to create almost infinite variations "on the spot" and dynamically control content creation, paves the way for new kinds of interactive systems. These systems can create interactive experiences that are unique yet easily fine-tuneable, and capable of tailoring visual content for each individual viewer. Furthermore, such systems offer the potential to create deeply personal and engaging experiences that could facilitate transformative states. This endeavor aligns with the notion of intentionally facilitating transformative experiences, a concept central to the re-emerging ethos of Cyberdelics, which posits that technology can produce experiences of awe, transcendence, empathy, and bliss, rather than robbing users of their sense of presence, promoting fear of missing out (FOMO), anger and envy. While previous research on inducing awe has often relied on non- interactive stimuli such as natural imagery, there has been a notable absence of empirical studies investigating interactive systems that leverage personalized, real-time content.
In line with this growing interest in utilising emerging technology as a catalyst for transformative experiences, this study contributes to the ongoing discussion by empirically exploring how an interactive installation can facilitate such profound encounters. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate whether GenAI-augmented self-reflection can serve as an effective and novel source of aesthetic awe. To achieve it, this experimental study combines approaches from visual arts, the unique affordances of GenAI technology, the philosophical underpinnings of Cyberdelics, and empirical methods from psychology in human-computer interaction
PERFORMANCE-AWARE SHADER AUTHORING FOR WEB-BASED VIRTUAL REALITY DEVELOPMENT
Get PDFWebXR allows users to create and experience virtual, augmented, and mixed reality content directly through popular web browsers, making these immersive experiences widely accessible. However, this ease of access introduces significant performance challenges, particularly on standalone VR headsets that have limited processing power. Maintaining high frame rates (typically 72–90 Hz) and low motion-to-photon latency (under 20 ms) is critical to preventing user discomfort. Yet, content creators, often artists without deep graphics engineering expertise face a performance knowledge gap, struggling to anticipate the performance costs associated with various shader functions. Current WebXR optimization workflows are predominantly reactive, involving a time-consuming cycle of authoring, deployment, profiling with tools like Chrome DevTools or Spector.js, and iterative refinement. This post-hoc approach provides limited guidance during the crucial design phase and is inefficient, especially given the performance variability across diverse device and browser combinations. Therefore, there is a clear need for preemptive performance feedback mechanisms integrated into artist-friendly shader authoring tools
PĀRMAIŅU SLIEKSNIS: KAD ATTĪSTĪBA MAINA VIETAS NOZĪMI TĀS SĀKOTNĒJAI KOPIENAI
Get PDFŠis raksts pēta robežpunktus, kuros vietas attīstība sāk mainīt tās nozīmi sākotnējai kopie- nai, kas to apguvusi un veidojusi. Fokusējoties uz pamestu ēku apdzīvošanu un to pakāpenisku integrāciju mainīgos ekonomiskās attīstības modeļos, tiek analizēts, kā un kad uzlabojumi pārvērš telpu no alternatīvas patvēruma vietas par komercializētu vidi. Pētījums balstās uz vietas izjūtas un kopienas piederības konceptiem, lai izprastu, kādos apstākļos attīstība kļūst par atstumšanas mehānismu un vai iespējams līdzsvars starp attīstību un sākotnējās kopienas saglabāšanu
FROM COLD WAR LEGACY TO FUTURE HERITAGE: A VALUE-BASED FRAMEWORK FOR MILITARY HERITAGE MANAGEMENT
Get PDFDespite its social, educational, economic, and symbolic significance, military heritage (MH) remains an underexplored field in academic research. One important aspect of this heritage is the legacy of the Cold War, which — although often perceived as an ‘imaginary’ war — remains both nationally and globally relevant. Over the past decade, researchers from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Taiwan, and the Nordic and Baltic States have increasingly focused their attention on the legacies of the Cold War. Their work has categorised this heritage, investigated strategies for its preservation or intentional neglect, and explored its potential for education and tourism.
In Latvia — formerly the westernmost border of the USSR — the legacy of the Cold War is particularly visible. The landscape encompasses a diverse range of sites, from popular tourist attractions to unattractive, degraded and abandoned locations. However, Latvia currently lacks clear national or local strategies to determine which of these sites should be preserved as heritage, especially given their broader transnational significance. Some sites have even undergone disinheritance during processes of national identity formation, reflecting a broader challenge of managing difficult heritage
GREEN ECONOMY AND DIRECTIONS OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION IN THE POST-WAR RECOVERY PERIOD
Get PDFUkraine and its regions have endured 13 years of aggression from the Russian Federation, resulting in catastrophic consequences across all spheres of life: economic (destruction of critical infrastructure, industrial, and agricultural facilities), environmental (environmental pollution and threats to nuclear safety), social (crises in education and healthcare, increasing psychological trauma), and demographic (human losses and humanitarian crises), among others.
The recovery of Ukraine requires a comprehensive and innovative approach focused on "green" transformation. This will foster economic growth, job creation, energy efficiency, energy independence, and integration into the European and global spaces while improving the quality of life