This article reveals the importance of different methods for assessment of social infrastructure (SI) development needs in rural areas. Rural social infrastructure is a significant element of rural territories interpreted in different ways: as social and economic system, basic services for local community, social bridge for integrating different social groups into the society, important factor for satisfaction of rural people's needs and acknowledgement of their human rights. Besides the mentioned importance of SI to rural areas and rural community, the lack of exploration of methods for analysis of the needs for developing rural social infrastructure has been noticed in the scientific literature. The research aim is therefore to analyse the methods for assessment of needs of rural social infrastructure. The research question has been set accordingly: how different methods for need analysis could be applied to social infrastructure planning and development? The research results show that need analysis is generally linked to various methods, but for the SI planning, development and implementation specifically, there are certain methods, the application of which depends on specifics of rural areas (as territory) and features of local community.Key words: rural social infrastructure, rural area, rural community, needs assessment methods Santrauka:Šiame straipsnyje analizuojami poreikių kaimo socialinės infrastruktūros paslaugoms tyrimo metodai. Kaimo socialinė infrastruktūra yra svarbus kaimo vietovių gyvavimo elementas ir ji apibūdinama įvairiai: socialinė ekonominė sistema, pagrindinės paslaugos teikiamos vietos bendruomenei, "socialinis tiltas" įvairių socialinių grupių integracijai į visuomenę skatinti, faktorius lemiantis žmogiškųjų poreikių patenkinimą ir žmogiškųjų teisių užtikrinimą. Be minėtos socialinės infrastruktūros svarbos kaimo vietovėms ir kaimo bendruomenei, išryškėja ir poreikių kaimo socialinės infrastruktūros paslaugoms tyrimo metodų identifikavimo apribojimai/stoka mokslinėje literatūroje. Šio tyrimo tikslas yra išanalizuoti poreikių kaimo socialinės infrastruktūros paslaugoms tyrimo metodus. Atliekant tyrimą keliamas ir nagrinėjamas šis probleminis klausimas: kokie skirtingi poreikių kaimo socialinės infrastruktūros paslaugoms tyrimo metodai gali būti taikomi planuojant socialinės infrastruktūros pokyčius ir plėtros galimybes? Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad įvairūs tyrime išanalizuoti poreikių tyrimo metodai yra svarbūs, tačiau, įgyvendinant socialinės infrastruktūros pokyčius, dėmesys dažniau fokusuojamas į keletą metodų, kurie priklauso nuo tokių esminių faktorių kaip kaimo vietovės (kaip teritorijos) specifiškumas ir kaimo bendruomenės bruožų.Raktiniai žodžiai: kaimo socialinė infrastruktūra, kaimo vietovė, kaimo bendruomenė, poreikių nustatymo metodai

Traditional and emerging interest networks supported by the advancement of digital and telecommunication technologies, the growing use of bioenergy and the ability to take advantage of knowledge beneficial for local populations and business development promote strategic breakthroughs of rural communities. The paper focuses on the problem of the smart village development with respect to a sustainable rural regional development. The aim of the research is to identify the preconditions for rural area progress and smart rural villages driving forces in Lithuania. The research object concerns the principles and driving forces of the development of smart villages. The research methods inter alia included analysis, systematization, and comparison of scientific literature, documents, and good practice examples. Analysis of the experiences of villages and local/international organizations and research into the best practices helped to identify the drivers and the key principles of the smart village development. The case study revealed that three out of five selected pilot rural areas of Lithuania have an innovative potential with some of the smart village principles adopted. The main constraints identified by the study were related to the lack of technological, digital or energy efficiency innovation and human resources in rural areas.

The problem examined in this research is how the loss of rural settlements, small towns, villages and farms contributes to changes in rural landscape and how can this change be managed? The survey was conducted in matching locations in Poland, Slovakia, Germany and in the southern part of Cyprus. The research methods were based on the analysis of source materials and on field analyses in the studied regions. Source research included searching for information in a literature on the subject, as well as planning documents, strategies and studies of spatial development conditions. The main causes of the decline of abandoned rural areas are the decrease in population and migration to cities, the intensification of production and the increase in production areas and the change in the nature of the activities of rural homesteads. The results of the research also show that in addition to common trends comprising the transformation of landscapes in rural areas, each of the analyzed regions differs in terms of the degree of adverse changes, the period in which changes were noted and the possibilities to prevent these changes. In order to prepare a village rehabilitation strategy, a comprehensive diagnosis of whole changes is required, in which the state and causes of landscape changes are determined, and possible solutions for halting rural depopulation are foreseen.

Subjektyvios pagyvenusių žmonių gyvenimo kokybės socialiniai ekonominiai veiksniaiSantrauka. Subjektyvios gyvenimo kokybės analizė Lietuvos socialinių mokslų diskurse dar nėra pakankamai išplėtota. Teorinės gyvenimo kokybės koncepcijos įžvalgos gana skurdžios, o šios srities tyrimai neatskleidžia įvairių visuomenės grupių (ypač socialiai pažeidžiamų) gyvenimo kokybės realybės. Straipsnyje aptariama gyvenimo kokybės koncepcija, šios srities tyrimų raida. Nagrinėjami metodologiniai subjektyvios gyvenimo kokybės tyrimų aspektai, pagrindinės subjektyvios gyvenimo kokybės dimensijos, jų realizavimo galimybės, jas įtakojantys veiksniai tarp pagyvenusių (pensinio amžiaus) žmonių. Empiriniame tyrime panaudotas klausimynas sudarytas remiantis įvairiomis užsienio mokslininkų subjektyvios gyvenimo kokybės metodikomis, kurios padeda atskleisti tiriamosios grupės subjektyvios gyvenimo kokybės ypatybes.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: gyvenimo kokybė, subjektyvi gyvenimo kokybė, pagyvenę žmonės, socialiniai ekonominiai veiksniai.Keywords: quality of life, subjective quality of life, elderly people, social economical factors.

This article deals with the important issue concerning that small towns and villages play an important role in the development of many European regions, not only from the point of view of agricultural function, but also due to the preservation of identity and heritage as well as social relations and management of spatial structures. On the other hand, in small towns and villages, there are growing problems related to the migration of people to big cities, leaving farms and villages. Progressive unemployment is observed, especially in peripheral areas. The research question is: what are the similarities and differences of social and spatial relations between small towns and surrounding villages in the selected countries? The article aims to present the interface between social and spatial relationships in small towns and surrounding villages in the context of analyzing the potential of rural areas and models for their development. Authors compared the specificity of small towns and villages of selected regions of Poland, Lithuania, and Slovakia. The following methods were used in the research: analysis and synthesis of literature and documents (legal and strategic), descriptive method, secondary data analysis, comparative method, visual data representation, case study.

In rural areas where life is slower but social problems tend to be deeper there is a need for urgent, pro-active and professional area-orientated development decisions. Due to challenges posed to agriculture by economic globalisation and sustainable development, both theoretical and applied scientific research is necessary for improving agricultural and rural development policies as well as their management. It should be highlighted that the demand for professional and innovative activities is significantly higher in rural development compared to the other sectors. The aim of this research is to explore the role and the functions of rural development administrators in rural institutions. The methodology of this research is based on the positive research paradigm, analysis of content and descriptive analysis, empirical study methods, logical and systematical reasoning, abstract and other methods. In order to assess the role of rural development administrators, three groups of experts (professionals, NGO and leaders of government organisations) were selected. Their opinions enabled the comparison of assumptions regarding the behaviour of rural development administrators as well as their participation in the process of rural development. The findings are expected to be useful for local, regional and national rural development policy makers and other actors inter-ested in management of rural development innovations in public sector.

Social infrastructure is largely related to various services for community, facilities and public spaces, relationships and networks among local community members. It is therefore obvious that social infrastructure could be viewed as an important factor for creating better opportunities for integration and participation in society, fostering functional capabilities of a community, acknowledging human rights, improving judgements related to overall life satisfaction. The links between social infrastructure services and focus on local community wellbeing in Lithuanian’s social science discourse has not been substantiated sufficiently yet. Consequently, this article aims at disclosing the importance of social infrastructure services in promotion of local community wellbeing. The research question of this article is formulated as follows: how social infrastructure services contribute and could promote wellbeing of local community. The methodological background is based on both theoretical and empirical findings pertaining to the topic. The research results have suggested that the need of local community for social infrastructure services should be evaluated more carefully in the context of wellbeing. These services have been found to play significant role in reaching a certain level of wellbeing in view of the place where people live, how they feel and how to evaluate the future of their living.

Ecological challenges encourage thinking about the quality of education, the need to develop a person who is responsible and able to live in harmony with the environment and is distinguished by ecological competences. The purpose of the research is to identify the ecological consciousness of pupils and values of pupils, which are developed based on the ‘Concept of the development of ecology and environmental technologies’. For the purpose of the research, a case study was applied, a quantitative research was carried out—the first school in Lithuania was analysed, where the concept of ecology and environmental technology development has been implemented since 2015. The research involved 11thand 12th grade pupils (N = 80). The results of the research were analysed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, correlation analysis and comparison method.Keywords: Ecologic education, pupils, values, ecologic consciousness