The article focuses on the analysis of preparation of crime prevention programmes in Lithuania and assesses their level of compliance with the methodological requirements for programme preparation. Many crime prevention programmes are approved and implemented at national level in Lithuania. If such programmes were prepared in accordance with the principles and methods recommended in the scientific literature, the efficiency of crime prevention programmes would undoubtedly increase. In Lithuania, a number of studies on the efficiency of the existing crime prevention programmes (...) were carried out; however, none of them assessed the level of compliance of such programmes with the methodological requirements for the preparation of such programmes. The object of the study – crime prevention programmes in Lithuania. The goal of the study is to analyse the preparation of crime prevention programmes currently available in Lithuania, to identify major problems related to the preparation of such programmes, and to suggest possible solutions to these problems. In order to achieve that goal, the article lists and defines the main general aspects of crime prevention, and carries out an analysis of the principles and methodological aspects of preparation of crime prevention programmes. Subsequently, the crime prevention programmes available in Lithuania are analysed and their level of compliance with the methodological requirements for such programmes is assessed. Major problems related to the preparation of such programmes are defined. Research methods. Analysis of scientific literature, comparative analysis, analysis of legal documents, content analysis, statistical data analysis, systemising and generalisation. Main results and conclusions: • After investigating 49 crime prevention programmes it was found that none of the examined programmes conformed to all of the 16 criteria of the methodological requirements applicable for preparation of such programmes. Most of the crime prevention programmes have the following weaknesses: o problem-solving is formulated vaguely and inaccurately – the main problem for which the programme is created is not distinguished and its extent and content cannot be determined by objectively measurable indicators. o Permanence of solving problems is not defined – the programmes did not provide data showing the duration of an underlying problem. o Unidentified negative consequences of the phenomenon – negative consequences of the problem are not revealed, the damage is not assessed. o The goals do not correspond to the problem – the results of the goals, which would be expressed in terms of changes to be achieved, describing changes to the extent and/or content of the problem are not determined. o The goals are not concrete and exact – the objects of impact, their changes and expected results are not defined. o The goals are incomprehensible – they are vaguely formulated and treated like tasks. o Non-specific tasks – there are no outcomes measurable by objective indicators, after achieving that the tasks are resolved. o The potential effectiveness of the selected measures is not specified - there is no indication on the grounds of the conclusion as to the potential effectiveness of each measure. o The financial costs of implementing measures are not estimated. o The expected results are not determined - there is no indication as to the changes to be determined by the implementation of the programme. o There are no criteria provided for the assessment of effectiveness and impact. o The participation of the non-governmental organisations and individuals in the implementation of the measures is not defined. • On average, crime prevention programmes meet 6.8 of the criteria (out of the 16 criteria analysed). This means that on average the programmes meet less than half of all the criteria used. • Only 20 (41%) crime prevention programmes meet half or more of the criteria examined. Proposal. Given the irrational use of the allocated resources for the implementation of the poorly developed crime prevention programmes, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania should develop and adopt a mandatory and not a guidance methodology for the preparation of programmes, to be used by anyone preparing programmes financed from the state budget. (shrink)

Entities pursuing their objectives focus on the smooth and efficient operations and processes, and optimum use of funds. For this purpose, an internal control system is being implemented in enterprises and organizations, one of the components among these systems is internal audit. The main objective of the internal auditor is to provide an independent and impartial assessment of the entity's performance and provide insights on how to improve its operations. Although internal audit is only part of the internal control system (...) of the entity, it has to assess the proper functioning of the system itself, propose measures to make internal control more efficient. The state of internal control largely depends on the work of the internal auditor. Scientific problem. The scientific literature emphasizes the need to create an appropriate system of internal control of the entity, but for many supervisors and internal auditors internal audit and internal control still associate with the role of the inspector. A well-functioning internal control system reduces the work involved in the audit and risks that allow the internal auditor to devote more time to developing the entity's development prospects. Particular attention in the process of operational efficiency must be given to employees performing the functions entrusted to them, including them in the process of internal control improvement. Not only managers but also all employees need to deepen knowledge of the importance of internal audit and the necessity of reaching the goals set by the entity, not only managers but also all employees. The aim of the article: to analyze peculiarities of theoretical internal audit and control. In order to achieve the tasks: to analyze the concept of internal audit and control, and its variation; to research internal audit objectives. The object of the research: internal audit and control in a company. The methodology of the research: the systemic analysis of scientific literature and legislation. (shrink)

Straipsnyje, remiantis tarptautinio jaunimo delinkvencijos ir viktimizacijos kiekybinio tyrimo ISRD, kuris Lietuvoje atliktas 2006 m., 2013 m. ir 2022 m., duomenimis, nagrinėjamas jaunuolių, gimusių po 1990-ųjų metų Lietuvoje, turtinio ir smurtinio pobūdžio delinkventinis elgesys. Keliant klausimą, kaip keitėsi šio pobūdžio delinkventinio elgesio dinamika, kiek ji atliepė registruotų nepilnamečių nusikalstamų veikų tendencijas bei kiek lytis išliko kaip delinkventinį elgesį diferencijuojantis veiksnys, straipsnyje lyginamos trijų amžiaus kohortų, jaunuolių, gimusių 1991–1993 m., 1998–2000 m. ir 2007–2009 m., apklausų duomenys. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė delinkventinio elgesio (...) tarp kohortų skirtumus, o naujausio tyrimo rezultatai leidžia teigti, kad 2007–2009 m. gimusiųjų amžiaus kohortoje delinkventinis elgesys būdingas tiek vaikinams, tiek merginoms, ir šie jaunuoliai labiau pasižymi turtinio, o ne smurtinio pobūdžio delinkventiniu elgesiu. (shrink)

The Vatican's Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World, issued in 2004 to reinterpret biblical creation accounts, were not as successful as they might have been. Instead of focusing attention on social structures of gender domination, the document criticizes feminist theories, which, supposedly, lead to tensions between sexes or tend to destroy family values. I have tried to reinterpret the same cardinal biblical creation accounts by (...) means of an historical-critical approach, etymological interpretation and hermeneutics, and to show how sexual and gender identities are unintentionally constructed by the authors of these accounts and how structures, appearing in these accounts as `structures of sin' have affected the interpretation of these identities in the same Bible and in the world of formation of the New Testament. The story of `primordial sin' in this case is a metaphor of socialization, for the metaphor of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, is to be understood as the tree of knowledge of opinions, rooted in society, tradition, culture, concerning what is good and what is evil, acceptable and unacceptable. (shrink)

Information is a very important factor in various fields of activity of the contemporary people. In any economic activities as well as in the activities of the economic entity the information is used for decision-making. The information may be economic, legal, scientific and otherwise, but in order to manage economic processes the most important is economic information. The greatest part of this information is provided by accounting both financial and management. In every company as in a separate accounting unit, a (...) lot of economic transactions and events occur over the year, constantly recording the movement of money, the amount of revenue and costs. Periodically, in the activities of enterprises, institutions or organizations it is necessary to summarise all the available economic information and calculate performance results, to show the remains of assets, equity and liabilities. Financial statements of the company in the market economy conditions is the main source of information about the assets, liabilities, capital, profits and cash flows. Accumulated and grouped financial information of companies, institutions, or organizations in the form of financial statements periodically, but not less often than at the end of the financial year, is is presented to all users who are interested in it, since the annual financial accounts must be provided by all companies, enterprises or organisations with legal status. Many Lithuanian authors, dealing with financial statements, note that the current forms used for financial statements do not provide sufficient information to meet the users‘ needs in constant competitive conditions and, therefore, there are a lot of discussions how these statements could be improved. When analysing financial accountability, problematic aspects of assessment of financial statements elements are faced. Both Lithuanian and foreign authors pay little attention to the assessment analysis of financial statement elements, because for businesses both in Lithuania and abroad it is rather complicated to assess properly the elements of the financial statements by assessment methods available in the literature in such a way that they would reflect the state of the company truly and correctly. This time, however, the figures in the financial statements is one of the most important sources of information for economic state assessment of companies, enterprises or organisations and for business management solutions. Accounting professionals and other users, when analysing the financial statements, may form opinions and draw conclusions about the profitability of the core business of the analysed entity, the ability to cover its short-term and long-term liabilities, as well as about long-term and short-term assets, product manufacturing and sales situation and changes during the reporting period, and relying on these data decide on the reliability of the company, development and investment opportunities. (shrink)

The present essay aims to offer some reflections concerning the cultural and political aspects of veganism, on the basis of the available surveys and statistics, plus some more gathered by the authors—with the tools of different methodologies, including the semiotic one. After an introduction to veganism as phenomenon and movement, with general reflections and also a number of specific data, the essay proceeds to focus on the more political aspects, with an emphasis on some of the most intriguing and multifaceted (...) data, such as the prevalence of female gender, leftist political inclinations and atheism within the vegan community. While the first connection has already been widely discussed since the times of Adams, much less has been said about the significance leftist ideologies and atheism within veganism. Moreover, within the domain of semiotics, this topic is entirely unexplored. (shrink)

Consumers’ inclinations towards materialism and compulsive buying are influenced by a variety of factors. Materialistic consumers face maladies that cause stress and lower subjective well-being and are unable to control their buying behaviour that in turn leads to social and financial issues. This paper aims to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence training on consumers’ materialism and compulsive buying. The experimental design involves 36 respondents across both groups. Findings confirm the hypothesis that ability-based training programmes can help consumers improve their (...) emotional intelligence whilst also lowering their levels of materialism and compulsive buying. In sum, the results extend the existing literature on consumer materialism by providing an explanation on how specific emotional ability-based training can diminish materialistic and excessive buying inclinations. The development of emotional intelligence skills-based training programmes contributes to more sustainable consumer behaviour, mitigating the vulnerability to materialism and related addictive behavioural consequences. (shrink)