Participatory Heritage On Social Networking Sites: The Discussion of Main Theoretical Concepts

The field researching cultural heritage communication on social networking sites, is still developing its theoretical foundations, while participatory heritage, as one of the newest concepts born in this field, is still lacking its grounded conceptualization, especially emerging from practice-based research studies. This theoretical study suggests to integrate different theoretical considerations that derives from cultural heritage studies, social networking sites research and theory of participation, and proposes to refine the concept of participatory heritage believing that the primary understanding of the context as “participatory” lies not in the environment itself, but in the activity that takes place in it. Therefore, I offer that participatory heritage could be understood as a new shift in cultural heritage practice that emerge through collaboration and communication of people on social networking sites.

The Comparative Analysis of Sexual Violence and Harassment at the piloting Universities of Cyprus and Lithuania

The sociocultural contexts of higher education institutions form the background for gender-based violence in professional structures and environment of academia. The article presents the comparative analysis of sexual violence and the reasons for its (non-)disclosure at the universities in Lithuania and Cyprus. The findings of focus group interviews conducted within the framework of the Ending Sexual Harassment and Violence in Third Level Education (ESHTE) project, co-funded by the European Union, have been summarized in the present research. The focus group participants from each partner university involved university teachers, administrative staff, counselors and university students. The research was conducted during a 3-month period between 2017 and 2018. The main aim was to investigate university staffs’ and students’ experiences in the disclosures of the cases of sexual violence and harassment (SVH) in university environment and campus, as well as their awareness of existing procedures and policies in handling the cases of SVH. Their personal experiences, attitudes and beliefs of SVH, as well as any suggestions they have towards the improvement of disclosures of SVH are discussed in the article.

Use of Illegally Distributed Books in Lithuania

This study seeks to reveal the attitudes of the Lithuanian adult population on using digital books and illegally distributed books and seeks to provide possible solutions to Lithuanian publishers and other institutions combating this phenomenon. A quantitative survey of 322 respondents was conducted. The analysis of the results was based on the Technology Acceptance Model, the theory of self-efficacy and the theory of planned behaviour. The results show that the ability to use digital technologies encourages the use of digital books. The perception of digital books as having value reduces the tendency to download them from illegal distribution channels. Legislative regulation does not have a significant impact on the intention not to use digital books from illegal distribution channels. It is likely that a negative assessment of the phenomenon in the immediate environment will have a greater impact on refusing to use illegally distributed books. In order to compete with illegal distribution channels, the channels for legally distributed books need to be more convenient and provide more content.

The Rhetoric of Lithuanian MeToo Discourse

The great spread of the phenomenon of MeToo, a global movement promoting the publicity of the facts of sexual harassment, has also received a response in Lithuania: anonymous stories in blogs have grown into a provocative discourse that has attracted a great deal of attention. The aim of the research presented in this article is to characterise the discourse of MeToo in terms of rhetorical expression that has not been discussed yet: to identify and elicit the dominant elements of rhetorical argumentation. The empirical research was conducted using the method of rhetorical analysis that allows distinguishing and defining in rhetorical categories the models characteristic to rhetoric appeals. The method of rhetorical analysis combined with directed content analysis, as well as with critical discourse analysis. Following the methodology of provocative narrative research, it was analysed the material published at the time of maximum intensity and involvement in the discourse, such as testimonies, publications, interviews, and comments of women who have been subjected to sexual harassment. The results of rhetorical discourse analysis allow us to discuss the culture of accusation in which the normalization of victim condemnation is prevalent, and logical reasoning gives way to prejudice-based emotional appeals.

Improving IT Service Management in Customer Service Business: A Case Study

Organisations that provide information technology services mostly set goals for improving the quality and management of services. The ability to remain competitive is one of the most critical factors in any modern organisation's success. For business processes to be successful, it is necessary to rely on rational and well-thought-out solutions. In many cases, data-based solutions create conditions to avoid or reduce significant risks. The article examines the possibilities of applying IT processes to improve customer service and presents its improvement outcomes. Customer satisfaction with the services provided is directly correlated with the quality of services. The research investigates and empirically evaluates the existing IT incident management processes of the selected company and provides opportunities for their improvement. After analysing incident management processes in the selected company, an improvement of the incident management processes was presented to eliminate the identified deficiencies. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the improvements. The results obtained show that the improved process had a statistically significant positive impact on improving the customer service quality. Therefore, it can be stated that the implemented changes are effective and useful in the context of the company's operations.

TV Media Change in the Aspect of Remediation Theory

The emergence of TV in the first half of the 20th century became one of the media for mass audiovisual communication, technologically extending the tradition of electric telegraph and radio. Initially, TV was considered a media for transmitting current processes. With the introduction of video technology in the 1960s, TV began to capture live content and re-display videos. TV content production technologies have been radically changed by video editing, which has brought TV closer to the cinema. Technological changes in the analog era have had a greater impact on content production processes, and the digital era sparked a revolution in content consumption. Technological changes in the pre-digital and digital era can be seen as progress, but at the same time raises the question of media perception, even survival, as the technologies of production and distribution of TV content and audience behavior change from time to time.

Sexual Harassment Experience, Gender Harassment and Body Objectification Effect on Disordered Eating Tendencies

Various research on sexual harassment and gender harassment confirms the adverse effects on a person's physical and emotional health (Shrier, 1990), but so far, little is known about the impact of sexual harassment and gender harassment on one's body objectification and links to disordered eating behavior. Sexual harassment and gender harassment are not only based on gender stereotypes but also play an essential role in supporting gender norms in society by regulating what is seen as acceptable and unacceptable behavior, and appearance for gender. According to the theory of body objectification (Fredrickson, Roberts, 1997), both forms of gender discrimination can induce attention to one's body and appearance, which ultimately can lead to reduced satisfaction of one's body (Szymanski et al. 2011). Since body dissatisfaction is one of the leading causes of eating disorders (Brechan, Kvalem, 2015; Cruz-Sáez et al. 2018), it is important to have a better understanding of sexual harassment and gender harassment relationship with body objectification and disordered eating behavior. The study aims to assess the relationships between sexual harassment and gender harassment experiences, body-objectification, and disordered eating behavior tendencies. 181 (23 males, 158 females) aged 18-38 (M=24.12) participated in this research. Sexual Harassment Experience Questionnaire (Fitzgerald et al. 1998) was used to measure both Unwanted Sexual Attention (Cronbach α – 0,893) and Quid Pro Quo sexual harassment (Cronbach α – 0,876), and Gender Harassment experience (Cronbach α – 0,868). Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (McKinley et al. 1996) was used to measure body objectification: Body Shame (Cronbach α – 0,825) and Body Surveillance (Cronbach α – 0,804). The Eating Attitudes Test (Garner et al. 1979) was used to evaluate disordered eating behavior tendencies: Dieting (Cronbach α – 0,924), Bulimia and Food Preoccupation (Cronbach α – 0,725) and Oral Control (Cronbach α – 0,714). The results revealed significant sexual harassment and gender harassment experience differences between genders showing that women report significantly higher results of all forms of sexual harassment and gender harassment than men. Data analysis also revealed a statistically significant relationship between higher results of sexual harassment, gender harassment experience, and more pronounced disordered eating tendencies and higher body objectification. Data analysis has shown that gender harassment experience is a significant prognostic factor for higher body surveillance and body shame results, more frequent dieting.

Social Research about Online Crime: Key Global Paradigms and the State of Research in Lithuania

This paper analyses key differences between two paradigms dominant in social research on online crime: the more prevalent neopositivist paradigm and the more recent critical–cultural paradigm. Based on an extensive analysis of up-to-date literature, the key paradigmatic oppositions in online crime research encompass: 1) in neopositivism, the conceptual separation of technological and social practices, the reliance on rational choice approaches in theory, especially routine activity theory, and the tendency towards quantitative research methods; 2) in the critical–cultural paradigm, a complex and context-dependent approach to the technosocial as a continuum, theoretical roots in critical theory, cultural criminology, actor-network theory, and feminist theory, and the emphasis on qualitative methods. The field of online crime research in Lithuania is dominated by legal studies, while social research is rare and fragmented. The existing social research of online crime in Lithuania lacks a solid theoretical basis in either paradigm. Methodologically, there are examples of both quantitative (surveys, analysis of registered crime statistics) and qualitative studies (interviews, discussion groups, content analysis). However, most of the studies are small-scale and their scarcity makes it nearly impossible to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, and complimentary potential of each approach in the specific national and regional context.

The Reasons of Emigration of Russians from Lithuania: Research Overview, Analysis of Press and Interview Data

The causes of the emigration of the members of the Russian ethnic minority from Lithuania in the last two decades are analyzed in the article. There is a lack of official statistics about the scale (numbers) and reasons for the emigration of ethnic minority groups from Lithuania. Therefore, the qualitative data analysis of Lithuanian press in the Russian language and interviews with informants of Russian nationality is presented in the article. The qualitative data analysis allows to look at the aspects on emigration from the Russian ethnic minority group perspective. The topics of articles about emigration and emigration aspects reflected in informants’ interviews are analyzed. It is considered how emigration of Russians from Lithuania is related to socio-economic, socio-psychological and other factors important to the country’s development.

Sexual Harassment Discourse in News Portal delfi.lt: 2017-2018

The definition of sexual harassment is mostly based on its legal regulation and is stated to be one of the forms of discrimination based on sex. However, such designation does not reveal social, psychological, economic, etc. sides of this phenomenon. Therefore, this article pays a lot of attention to the analysis of the phenomenon of sexual harassment, based on the insights of Lithuanian and foreign scientists, examines its forms, causes, consequences, and provides statistical information. As there are no scientific insights into the representation of sexual harassment in the media in Lithuania, research insights from foreign researchers are presented. This article presents an exploratory study of the representation of sexual harassment on the news portal delfi.lt, conducted during the analysis of 2017- 2018 publications. The aim of the article is to analyze the peculiarities of the representation of sexual harassment on the delfi.lt news portal. The research found that the topic of sexual harassment appears on the news portal only in the context of certain events, in this case the #metoo movement; there is a lack of analytical publications that would cover a broader context than the statement of facts; the experience of potential victims is presented as an individual problem.