Lietuva, Latvija ir Estija yra nacionalinės valstybės, pasižyminčios svarbiausiais modernaus valstybingumo atributais. Susikūrusios kaip tautinės valstybės, vėliau praradusios valstybingumą ir vėl jį atkūrusios, Baltijos šalys, pateko į sparčios globalizacijos ir regioninės integracijos pasaulį, veikiantį tradicines valstybingumo sampratas. „Vienos tautos, vienos kalbos, vienos kultūros, vienos valstybės“ pagrindu kurtos Lietuva, Latvija ir Estija į XXI amžių įžengė tęsdamos politinės bendruomenės formavimo projektus. Nacionalinė valstybė šiame darbe bus suprantama ne tik kaip teritorinis-politinis darinys, bet ir kaip jai lojalią politinę bendruomenę mėginantis kurti ir reprodukuoti socialinis aktorius. Šiam tikslui pasiekti nacionalinė valstybė naudojasi įvairiais instituciniais mechanizmais, pasitelkia ne tik juridines priemones, bet ir vertybinius argumentus. Pasinaudojant konstruktyvistine prieiga galima tirti politinės bendruomenės Baltijos šalyse formavimosi procesus, nustatyti esmines politikos sritis, veikiančias politinės bendruomenės sampratą ir palyginti jas platesnėje perspektyvoje įtraukiant „idealiuosius tipus“, istoriškai susiformavusius Vakarų šalyse. Istorija, kalba ir pilietybė – atributai, suteikiantys Baltijos šalių politinėms bendruomenėms turinį ir formą, todėl politikos jų atžvilgiu palyginimas parodo esminius skirtumus, lemiančius kitoniškas politinės bendruomenės sampratas Baltijos šalyse. Latvijoje ir Estijoje besiformuojantys modeliai panašūs į... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are nation-states that have all of the essential attributes of modern statehood. At first they had established themselves as ethnocultural nation-states, later lost their independence and then reemerged straight into the world which was hardly influenced by globalization and regional integration. The principle of “one nation, one language, one culture, one state” was already ideologically obsolete in modern discourse, however this was the basic principle on which the Baltic States were created. The nation-state in this thesis will be understood not only as territorial-political entity, but also as a social actor which puts efforts in political community building and reproducing it. In order to achieve these goals nation-state uses various institutional mechanisms; invokes legal remedies and arguments of inward values. Constructivist approach can help to investigate the processes of political community building in the Baltic States and to identify substantial fields of politics that determine the perception of political community. This also allows comparing them in a broader perspective – with “ideal types” of nation-state that appeared in the West. History, language and citizenship – these are the attributes that provide the political communities of the Baltic States with content and form; therefore the comparison of the policies towards those attributes indicates differences which determine different models of political community-shaping in the... [to full text]

This research work is driven by a desire to improve status quo in the area of New Zealand’s political, business and person-to-person relations with the post-Soviet Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (the Baltics or the Baltic States), which by now represent an integral part of the European Union (EU). The example of Estonia will be tested as a possible ‘gateway’ for New Zealand trying to undertake its most recent endeavours towards discovering the Baltic region. The dissertation’s response variable can be outlined as ‘New Zealand multi-dimensional interactions with the post-Soviet Baltic Republics, particularly with the Republic of Estonia’. At the same time, the descriptive nature of the dependent variable is planned to be expanded with the help of the manipulated variable that will lead this research work. The latter variable will be formulated as ‘Estonia, a democratic, transparent, free-market state, can be chosen as a ‘gateway’ for New Zealand politics, business circles and the public in their endeavours to succeed in the post-Soviet Baltic region of the EU’. Such an approach will give a chance to scrutinise the studied issues comprehensively, from several angles (such as ‘theoretical’, ‘operational’ and ‘structural’), and by answering the following three research questions: is it necessary for New Zealand to promote its interests and values in the region of the Baltic States; does an idea to choose one of the three Baltic States as a ‘hub’ for promoting New Zealand interests and values in the Baltic region of the EU have a perspective; and can Estonia be considered/recommended to become such a ‘hub’? This dissertation is among the first attempts to address a deficit of scholarship studying New Zealand relations with the post-Soviet Baltic region. Its findings could be used by both New Zealand and the Baltics’ decision-makers in the field of international relations.

The use of history is the concept of people using and analyzing history in the society for various purposes. Study in this area has largely emerged because there are many different reasons for people and societies to be interested in history. To investigate the use of history, a historical material needs to be present in some form. With this study, I intend to show how older tourist guidebooks can provide such materials of study and therefore I use travel guidebooks about Tallinn released under the USSR (Estonian SSR) between the years 1960 to 1990. The analysis is based on Klas-Göran Karlsson's (Professor of History) typology of seven different uses of history: scientific, existential, moral, ideological, political, educational, non-use of history and a commercial use of history. This paper has highlighted several different historical dimensions in travel guides and reasons why they can be analyzed. Results of this study show that the travel guides can act as a medium for existential orientation and that they can function as a communicational, educational and an interest raising tools. They can also develop a critical approach towards historical events and help to "sell" history through various commercial products. Thus, tourist guidebooks can be used and analyzed more systematically by professionals, interested individuals or a group who feel the need, desire or interest in the way history can be used in their practices. / Historiebruk handlar om hur människor använder och analyserar (brukar) historia i samhället för olika syften. Studieområdet har till stor del vuxit fram eftersom det finns många olika skäl att intressera sig för historia. För att undersöka historiebruk behövs ett studieobjekt som på något sätt tar upp historia. Med denna uppsats ämnar jag undersöka hur äldre reseguider kan utgöra sådana studieobjekt och därför kommer reseguider om Tallinn från Estniska SSR utgivna mellan 1960 till 1990 användas i historiebruksundersökningen. Analysen utgår från historieprofessorn Klas-Göran Karlssons typologi med sju olika historiebruk – ett vetenskapligt, ett existentiellt, ett moraliskt, ett ideologiskt, ett politiskt-pedagogiskt, ett icke- bruk av historia och ett kommersiellt. Undersökningen har belyst flera olika historiska dimensioner i reseguiderna och motiv till varför de kan analyseras. Resultatet av undersökningen visar på fyra punkter. Den första är att reseguiderna kan agera medium vid existentiell orientering. Den andra att de kan fungera som kommunikations-, kunskaps- och intresseprocess. Den tredje punkten är att de kan utveckla ett kritiskt förhållningssätt och fjärde punkten handlar om att reseguiderna kan vara motiv för att “sälja” historia vid utvecklingar av olika kommersiella produkter inom exempelvis turismen. Likaså att reseguiderna kan nyttjas och analyseras av antigen en individ eller grupp som känner behov, önskan eller intresse.

Diss. Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2005.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2005. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Lic.-avh. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2009. / Härtill 2 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2010 May 24

No description available.

The purpose of the study is to map the current situation of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Estonian textile and clothing industry. As the importance of the Estonian textile and clothing industry is decreasing, CSR is becoming more important to implement as it is argued to increase competitiveness. The study investigates how CSR is perceived by the biggest textile and clothing companies in Estonia through analysing the understanding, attitudes, activities, drivers and barriers of CSR. A qualitative research strategy and multiple-case study research design was used when conducting the study. Six representatives of Estonian textile and clothing companies were interviewed using a semi-structured interview type. The data was analysed using a pattern-matching technique. In order to draw cross-case conclusions, a cross-case analysis was performed as well. The understanding of CSR is fairly extensive among the participating companies. CSR is perceived to be important for improving a company’s competitiveness and reputation. The activities that are considered most important to engage in include activities to improve the well-being of employees and contribute to the society and community. The strongest barrier to implementing CSR is its cost and lack of governmental support. The main drivers are considered to be attracting the best employees and improving the satisfaction of existing ones, improving reputation and gaining a competitive advantage.

This thesis focuses on comparation of flat tax in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech republic and Slovakia. In first part is characterization of the flat tax according to its authors Hall and Rabushka and comparison real tax systems in these economies with theoretical concept and demands on good tax system. In final part includes evaluation of economic developement of chosen countries.