The regulations for restricting the Covid-19 virus set by the Latvian government, which entered into force on March 13, 2020, caused significant changes in the operation of outlets and consumer behavior. At the onset of the emergency, Latvia, like many parts of the world, experienced uncoordinated collective behavior that could potentially lead to significant changes in food supply chains. Therefore, one of the research directions of The National Research Program project “Towards the Post-pandemic Recovery: Economic, Political and Legal Framework for the Preservation of Latvia's Growth Potential and Increasing Competitiveness” (recovery-LV) (2020) was to find out how the Covid-19 crisis Restrictions have changed buyers' habits towards buying and consuming food. The article summarizes and analyses the research results of the content analysis, semi-structured interviews and survey conducted within the project. An analysis of the results shows that, as a result of the crisis, consumers are less likely to visit outlets, cook more often at home and choose more locally sourced food. It was concluded that the consumer agitation regarding the purchase of food products in 2020 was short-lived, which later returned to the usual limits of the habits of various socio-demographic groups of the population.
Abstract:The renewal of society is a broad term in its original sense but in the context of the article, it is linked with issues of depopulation, territorial polarization, and shrinking processes in Latvia. One of the -hot points‖ for local governments has been finding ways to attract people and promote the development of rural territories for the past decades. Both theoretical and practical solutions for maintaining rural society and promoting the renewal of society are the development of the cultural environment. Cultural activities directly affect public participation, cooperation among the population, the development of creativity, and promotion of inclusive society, health and society renewal. As recent investigations show, cultural environment is broadly developing in rural territories of Latvia. The research of cultural environment as a potential for the renewal of society of Latvia is a novelty due to the beginning of the National Research Program for the period 2014-2017 funded by the Government of Latvia (EKOSOC LV projects 5.2.4., 5.2.8.). The aim of the article is to analyze cultural environment as a potential for renewal of society in rural territories of Latvia. The research object is planning and development documents of local governments, different agents of rural territories. The results of the study reveal development of cultural environment in rural regions in Latvia. However, these practices are fragile yet and need support. They can bring forth new social and economic structures and serve as promoters of the smart development of rural territories in Latvia. For this reason, local governments should create their strategies to appreciate and support cultural activities as their potential for renewal of rural society.
Government-citizen communication is a prerequisite for the place development and sustainable development. The latest communication theories emphasize the responsibility of local authorities to build communication with local people, to develop safe and sustainable communities, to provide services and infrastructure, to develop horizontal communication networks to promote community development and trust and reduce social distances between social agents. The aim of the article is to explore government-citizen communication in rural municipalities of Latvia from the viewpoint of local citizens. Tasks are related to describing of theoretical statements concerning governance-citizen communication in the light of sustainable development and analysing empirical information. Results of the research indicate average estimation of the communication with local government and the significance of informal communication networks in rural communities. Though municipalities in rural areas use different communication channels, including modern solutions, the situation analysis reveals a certain discrepancy with theoretical concepts and other research results, because rural municipalities in Latvia are more characterized by a "top-down" communication model, which is often based on power relations, is one-sided and formal. Government-citizen communication in rural municipalities of Latvia is regarded as an up-to-date, but insufficiently identified and evaluated tool for the development of citizens' involvement and place development processes. Therefore, further investigation and exploring are necessary to improve understanding of government-citizen communication and establishing of horizontal cooperation ties.
This study exposes approaches to "collective creativity"by adopting a regional needs assessment through the World Café method. A multidisciplinary team of researchers and stakeholders worked together to identify needs within the region by using the World Café method and enhancing participation in policy-making. The paper aims to describe regional needs assessment as a useful approach for studying demographic and migration challenges in the regions of Latvia. The formal outcomes of the project are policy recommendations which have been used for the elaboration of planning documents at the national, regional and local level. Moreover, this approach also fostered positive collaborative practices among scientists and policymakers, including scientists who come from various disciplines and found a common platform for the solution of problems.
Abstract:The renewal of society is a broad term in its original sense but in the context of the article, it is linked with issues of depopulation, territorial polarization, and shrinking processes in Latvia. One of the -hot points‖ for local governments has been finding ways to attract people and promote the development of rural territories for the past decades. Both theoretical and practical solutions for maintaining rural society and promoting the renewal of society are the development of the cultural environment. Cultural activities directly affect public participation, cooperation among the population, the development of creativity, and promotion of inclusive society, health and society renewal. As recent investigations show, cultural environment is broadly developing in rural territories of Latvia. The research of cultural environment as a potential for the renewal of society of Latvia is a novelty due to the beginning of the National Research Program for the period 2014-2017 funded by the Government of Latvia (EKOSOC LV projects 5.2.4., 5.2.8.). The aim of the article is to analyze cultural environment as a potential for renewal of society in rural territories of Latvia. The research object is planning and development documents of local governments, different agents of rural territories. The results of the study reveal development of cultural environment in rural regions in Latvia. However, these practices are fragile yet and need support. They can bring forth new social and economic structures and serve as promoters of the smart development of rural territories in Latvia. For this reason, local governments should create their strategies to appreciate and support cultural activities as their potential for renewal of rural society.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.