This study aims to define and quantify the impact of perceived advantages and disadvantages on university students' decision making about starting a business in Central European countries, specifically in Slovak Czech Republic, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The empirical research, carried out from March to June 2024, aimed at finding out the attitudes of university students towards the advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurship. The study uses a questionnaire survey that was conducted in June 2024.
Low-density thermal insulation materials tend to settle during operation or under small loads. Resistance to loads and settling is ensured by increasing the density of thermal insulation materials several times. This increases the weight of the material and the structure and production costs. In this work, using various technological processes, corrugated textile sheets and thermal insulation materials were produced from textile fabric. The development of such materials as effective thermal insulation materials for building insulation has not yet been studied. The corrugation of textile sheets enabled the thermal insulation material to exhibit good mechanical and deformation properties without increasing its density or thermal conductivity.
Therapy farms are increasingly recognized as social innovations that respond to exclusion,
mental health challenges, and youth disconnection, particularly in rural areas. While
often praised for their inclusive and rehabilitative potential, their broader impact on
structural social transformation remains under-examined. This study explores the House of
Educational Experiences, a therapeutic farm in rural Lithuania, to critically assess how such
initiatives function as both agents of inclusion and stabilizers of existing socio-economic
arrangements. Drawing on a qualitative case study approach, the research analyses indepth
interview data through the lens of the social innovation cycle, focusing on novelty,
process, heterogeneity, impact, scalability, and transformative potential.
The present paper analyses the extent to which European Union regulatory frameworks induce the development of circular agriculture within the European Union. In order to evaluate the progress towards circular agriculture within the European Union, a composite Agricultural Circularity Index (ACI) was developed for all EU-27 Member States for the period of 2014–2023.
The loss of biodiversity is a big challenge for the successful functioning of ecosystems, and it is mostly related to the agricultural sector. Thus, conservation of biodiversity is a vital issue, and it is important to explore the main determinants and tools for mitigation of this problem. In this study, the multi-faceted impact of agriculture on biodiversity is revealed in a systemic manner and using a critical review approach. Furthermore, the role of the transition from conventional to organic agriculture in biodiversity conservation, focusing on potential to mitigate the loss of biodiversity, is presented.
The by-production (BP) model proposed by Murty et al. (2012) distinguishes between inputs that induce generation of the undesirable outputs (such inputs can include energy consumption) and those that do not contribute to generation of undesirable outputs (such inputs can include capital or labor). The BP model uses economic and environmental frontiers to approximate the production process and is considered to respect the materials balance principle. As the inputs contributing to generation of the undesirable outputs exhibit different roles (inequalities) across the two sub-technologies, construction of the input distance functions for construction of the productivity measures becomes cumbersome.
In the digital economy of today, social media has transformed marketing functions in most consumer-oriented businesses, such as fashion. This research examines the impact of the leading social media marketing features – “entertainment”, “customization”, “electronic word of mouth” (EWoM), and “trendiness” – on “consumer brand engagement” and “brand awareness” in the fashion industry. Based on a systematic survey conducted among 384 active social media users, the study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the interrelatedness of the variables. The study reveals that “consumer engagement” with brands is highly influenced by EWoM, interactivity, and “fashion trends”, which consequently increase “brand awareness” and “brand image”. However, the influence of “entertainment” and “customization” on consumer participation was statistically insignificant.
This study examines how gender equality contributes to inclusive and sustainable green transitions across the European Union (EU). Using macro-panel data for 27 EU countries, it applies three econometric models to assess how changes in gender inequality, measured by the Gender Inequality Index (GII), influence female employment, women's tertiary education as well as the performance of the environmental goods and services sector.
The chambers of agriculture play a crucial role in shaping agricultural policy, supporting rural development,
and representing the interests of farmers and agribusinesses in rural areas. This research provides a comparative
analysis of the Chambers of agriculture in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, focusing on their historical development,
governance structures, legal frameworks, membership principles, and relationships with public authorities.
Despite being the EU’s largest budgetary instrument, direct payments remain allocated through political compromise rather than clear methodological criteria, sustaining long-standing disparities between EU-15, EU-10 member states, undermining solidarity. This paper proposes 18 models based on transparent rules to address this ambivalent situation.