Today, individuals can relatively easily meet and communicate with each other over great distances due to increased mobility and advances in communication technology. This also allows intimate relationships to be maintained over large geographical distances. Despite these developments, long-distance relationships (LDRs), i.e. intimate relationships maintained over geographical distance, remain understudied. The present thesis aims to fill this knowledge gap and investigates how intimate partners who live so far away from each other that they cannot meet every day make their relationship ongoing beyond face-to-face interaction. Theoretically, this study departs from a symbolic interactionist viewpoint that invites us to study phenomena from the actor’s perspective. Conceptually, the thesis builds on the recent development in sociology of intimate lives that sees intimacy as a relational quality that has to be worked on to be sustained, and that focuses on the practices that make a relationship a relationship. Empirically, the thesis is based upon 19 in-depth interviews with individuals from Latvia with long-distance relationship experience. The thesis consists of four articles. Article I studies the context in which LDRs in Latvia are maintained, focusing on the normative constraints that complicate LDR maintenance. Article II analyses how intimacy is practiced over geographical distance. Article III examines how long-distance partners manage the experience of the time they are together and the time they are geographically apart. Article IV explores the aspect of idealization in LDRs. Overall, the thesis argues for the critical role of imagination in relationship maintenance. The relationship maintenance strategies identified within the articles are imagination-based mediated communication (creating sensual/embodied intimacy, emotional intimacy, daily intimacy and imagined individual intimacy); time-work strategies that enable long-distance partners to deal with the spatiotemporal borders of the time together and the time apart; and creating bi-directional idealization. The thesis is also one of the few works in the field of intimate lives in Eastern Europe and analyses the normative complications that long-distance partners face in their relationship maintenance in Latvia.

This thesis explores different geographies of tourism, gender, work and liveli­hood in post-socialist Latvia. The study puts focus on the overall transforma­tion process and the reshaping of the tourism sector, in how Latvia is reimag­ined both as a nation state and as a tourism destination. One central aim is to analyse the transformation process as genderised, and how existing gender identi­ties in general and femininities more specifically are being transformed and mirrored within tourism. The thesis first contain an analysis of how Latvian tourism-mar­ket­ing carries genderised meanings and identities, based on three interrelated ‘geog­raphies’ as part of the transforming ‘national common space’: geogra­phies of neo-nationalism, geographies of Euro­peanisation and geographies of relic-communism. These hold certain imaginations and conceptions of space and place, and in­clude aims and priorities of the transition process. Secondly, focus is placed on the chang­ing conditions for women’s livelihood within rural tourism in the Cēsis district, and spa/health tourism in Jūrmala. The thesis has mainly a quali­tative approach, including semi-structured interviews and text analysis, but the case studies also comprise a survey. The thesis illustrates how tourism becomes an arena for reclaiming a Latvian national identity rooted in a pre-Soviet past, while also manifesting a Western European identity, and negotiating the remains of the controversial Soviet heritage. This process reveals, for example, traditional feminised features of the nation state, portraying women as the ‘mothers’ of the nation. Two case studies of female employees and entrepreneurs within rural tourism and spa/health tourism also show how women negotiate different ideals of femininities, in­cluding ‘traditional’, ‘Western’ and ‘socialist’ ideals, through their everyday live­lihood practices within both the public and the private sphere. Their negotia­tions for a more independent liveli­hood are also affected by structural factors, such as wages and taxes, but also by the local socio-cultural context and related gender identities, including class, family structure, age and ethnicity.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2008. / Med CD-ROM.

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

This thesis investigates the public sector in Latvia and the research question is “what is the nature of transition of Human Resource Management ideologies and paradigms against the backdrop of larger scale dynamic development in Latvia?” The interest within this research is that of the contextual paradigmatic view of Human Resource Management (HRM) (Brewster et al., 2010; Brewster, 1999; Moreley, 2004) exploring the contextual factors, or surrounding antecedents of HRM (Brewster, et al., 2010). The research is a case study of the public sector within the State of Latvia for what became a journey through the complex history of this country revealing a state with a varied and dramatic past which has been subject to various invasions, occupations and subjected to the control and command society of the Soviet Union for a considerable number of years. The journey from Soviet control of the politically motivated ‘cadre’ system into independence has provided a rich source of research exploring how human resource management (HRM) has developed within the public sector. This was investigated as a case study since it is a ‘constant’ in relation to changes and a good indicator of attitudes to management from a national perspective. As well as past ‘models’ or attitudes to HRM from a Soviet perspective, various models of HRM have been explored and discussed, particularly in relation to the universalistic nature of Westernised typologies. The concept of a European model has been considered and discussed with consideration of various ‘clusters’ of practices which take into account cultural aspects, in particular national culture, as an important element within the study. Overarching this is the growing interest in convergence or divergence of HRM as the Central Eastern European states have developed post-independence (Brewster, 2004). The mixed methods approach used is firmly place within the qualitative field or phenomenological approach and explores aspects such as behaviour, perspectives, experiences and feelings (Atkinson et al., 2001; Marshall and Rossman, 2006). The research utilises grounded theory building (Glaser and Straus, 1967; Charmaz, 2014; Bryant and Charmaz, 2007; Strauss and Corbin, 1997; Glaser, 2002)) combining multiple data collection methods taking a pragmatic approach to research. The level of analysis explores the macro, meso and micro level environments of the Latvian public sector. The macro-level concerns interactions between state and society from a broad perspective, fundamentally this is the level where decision-making takes place, the meso-level explores individual ‘behaviours’ embedded in every day social practices shaped or constrained by material and infrastructural contexts and the micro-level of individual behaviour and action). Exploratory research has considered historical accounts along with what was sparse research within the area. A Soviet perspective was considered for the period immediately preceding independence. Elite interviews were carried out followed by a survey questionnaire. The opportunity to enter the organisation and undertake observations was thwarted by a change of government and therefore ‘access’ afforded to the researcher. The findings are integrated throughout this work as is the nature of grounded theory building, and given the paucity of research has become part of a wider social study of a system finding its identity through difficult times. The results and analysis takes into account not only elite interviews and the survey questionnaire but also background historical research. The result is a fertile breeding ground for investigation which offers many avenues for further research. Various questions for future research are raised within the thesis and remain an interest of the researcher to take forward.

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.

Several studies have been published postulating the emergence of the post-modern research system, the research system in transition and the new production of knowledge (Cozzens et al. 1990, Rip and van der Meulen 1996, Gibbons et al. 1994). However, these studies have been largely concerned with the gradual transformation of well-established research systems of Western industrialised countries. The radical transformations of the research systems of Central and Eastern European countries (CEE), following the collapse of the communist regime at the beginning of the 1990s, have attracted a smaller number of scholars (Balazs et al. 1995; Schimank 1995; Radosevic 1999; Dyker and Radosevic 1999, 2000). Prior to this, the developments in scientific organisation have been considered to be either an issue of evolution (in advanced or industrialised countries) or, as in the case of developing countries - a development issue. However, the research/innovation systems of CEE in the 1990s were neither underdeveloped, nor following the pattern of evolution of other industrialised countries, but were forced to change as a consequence of changes in the political and economic order. Furthermore, eighteen years after the fall of the communist regime, the research systems of CEE have developed at different rates, along different trajectories, despite similar preconditions for change. Taking into account the aforementioned considerations, the study investigates two research systems in transition, those of Latvia and Estonia, which along with the Czech Republic have initiated the most radical reorganisation of their research systems. The choice of countries is based on the realisation that despite, at first glance, similar pre-conditions for change, as well as similar demographic factors, political and economic systems, and institutional structures of scientific organisation (which makes these countries easily comparable); these systems appear to have evolved along different trajectories. Clear differences are seen in terms of total state funding allocated for research, as well as contributions from the private sector, R&D intensity, research output in terms of publication, citation rates and patents, collaborative projects and publications (Kristapsons, Martinson and Dagyte 2003). Based on these indicators, Estonia precedes Latvia on all counts; possible explanations for this are the diversified funding mechanisms available, and the multitude of assessments of research and development on the basis of which policies were formed (Kristapsons, Martinson and Dagyte 2003).In view of the overall goal of explaining different rates/paths of development of similarly positioned national research systems, the purpose of the study is twofold. Firstly, it attempts to paint a comprehensive picture of the Latvian and Estonian research systems and, secondly, it compares and contrasts them in terms of the reforms initiated and the outputs, outcomes and impacts of these reforms. Methodologically, the study is largely qualitative in nature and it has been deemed appropriate to present the two countries as separate case studies, yet retaining a common analytical frame to gather primary and secondary data. Secondary data has been collected by drawing on the multitude of archival and documentary evidence and statistical databases available; primary data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews.

This research analyses the extent to which three newer (European Union) EU member states, Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia have attempted and succeeded in shaping the development of the EU's energy security policy, focusing on natural gas. This explores the argument that EU membership affects the formation of national foreign and energy policy as well as procedures of policy-making, and that newer member states have also been able to shape EU level policy-making through the ‘uploading’ of national preferences. The research engages with relevant conceptual issues to develop and utilise a framework which is a synthesis of literature on EU agenda-setting, policy framing, Europeanisation and the social construction of energy ‘crises’ and (in)security. This conceptual frame is then used to explore and evaluate the influence of newer member states on EU energy policy agenda-setting, policy-making and policy implementation. Evaluating the obstacles and opportunities for influence, an empirically rich data set is analysed to test the extent to which five theoretically derived hypotheses account for member state influence. Five mechanisms are identified as potentially key factors in explaining the degree of influence which member states have. The thesis suggests that one is the impact of supply disruptions and price rises on perceptions and constructions of national and EU energy security. This can contribute towards a context that is conducive to the arguments about policy change and projection being made, a policy window, and is a reflection of the social construction of energy insecurity and energy crises. Diplomatic skill and learning to ‘play the EU game’, being active in Council summits and technocratic level(s), and engaging in consensual policy-making that adheres to EU norms and interests is seen as important. Another key factor is the role of Russia as a major and sometimes monopoly gas supplier, in constraining, enabling, and influencing the strength of national interests - the extent of political will and EU energy policy activism. A fourth factor is considered to be the extent to which institutionalised sub-EU regional and strategic alliances exist and are prioritised as an arena to develop coordinated policies and preferences. The final conceptually derived factor is related to the strength of administrative capacity, in terms of well-coordinated institutions at the national and EU level, and sufficient personnel and resources. The thesis also provides a study of the development of EU energy policy since the 1950s in chapter two, and chapters three to five focus on the three country case studies; Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia. These empirical chapters include in each case a history of their energy policy and relations with both the EU and Russia. The thesis concludes with an analysis of the empirical findings using comparative country case manner approach, along with conceptual (and methodological) observations based on the testing of the hypotheses.

Rezension zum Werk Gadsimtu skaņulokā, erschienen 1997 in Riga