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In the context of an escalating energy crisis, the burgeoning prevalence of remote work, and challenging climatic conditions, ensuring optimal indoor air quality (IAQ) has emerged as a pressing concern. This pilot study rigorously investigates the complex interplay between biological, chemical, and physical parameters that characterize IAQ, focusing specifically on university classrooms during active teaching sessions. Employing a comprehensive array of instrumentation – such as SAS SUPER ISO 100 for microbiological sampling, Aranet4 for monitoring relative humidity, temperature, and CO2 concentration, and PCE-PCO 1 and PCE-RSCM 16 for particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) quantification—the study spanned a duration of three days in November 2022 and covered classrooms of varying dimensions, both reliant on natural ventilation. An extensive collection of 52 microbiological samples were obtained and cultured on specialized growth media to differentiate between various classes of airborne microorganisms. Concurrently, the pilot study meticulously recorded students’ activity patterns, along with the temporal dynamics of window openings and closures. The colony-forming units per cubic meter (CFU/m3) fluctuated between 174 and 934 CFU/m3, with fungi constituting the majority. Furthermore, the CFU/m3 for fungi cultivated on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar ranged from 24 to 610 CFU/m3, whereas bacteria cultured on Trypticase Soy Agar and Mannitol Salt Agar exhibited ranges of 42–476 CFU/m3 and 42–254 CFU/m3, respectively. Contrasting these findings with extant guidelines that recommend microbiological contamination not exceeding 500 CFU/m3 highlights significant IAQ concerns. Thermal assessments revealed that the smaller classroom surpassed the acceptable indoor temperature threshold of 25 °C within an average duration of 50 minutes, while the larger classroom remained compliant. Notably, the highest CO2 concentrations recorded over the three-day period were alarmingly high: 2689 ppm, 1970 ppm, and 2131 ppm on the first, second, and third days, respectively. A 25-minute ventilation intervention was sufficient to reduce CO2 levels to 499 ppm, although existing literature stipulates that CO2 concentrations should not surpass 1000 ppm. Importantly, the pilot study highlighted the rapid increasing of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in crowded instructional settings, averaging 400 μg/m3 and 35 μg/m3, respectively. This underscores the necessity for a continuous air ventilation and purification mechanism during classroom activities. Despite these pivotal findings, the study identifies a glaring absence of standardized regulations or guidelines pertaining to maximum acceptable concentrations of particulate matter and microbial CFU in public indoor environments, indicating a critical area requiring immediate policy intervention.

One of the approaches to achieve sustainable development is based on smart specialization. Rural areas are of particular importance in ensuring sustainable development, the smart development of which largely determines the balanced sustainable development of a state as a whole. The present study reflects the quantitative and the qualitative assessment of sustainable development in the region of Latgale (Latvia) on the level of 19 districts; the assessment has been carried out on the basis of the concept of smart specialization. The assessment has been performed within the framework of the project 5.2 of the National Research Programme EKOSOC-LV. The quantitative assessment is based on scientific and practical experience taking into consideration the distinguishing features of the development of Latvian regions and districts, and it has resulted in the establishment of an integrated index (Smart Development Index), which comprises four dimensions n Resources, Population, Economy, and Management. The qualitative assessment is based on the views concerning the cornerstones of smart specialization and the factors influencing it expressed by experts from the state administration, business and scientific environment. Expert opinions have been collected by using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The results of the research might facilitate the understanding of the support measures of smart specialization and the opportunities for sustainable development in rural areas, taking into account the level of the regional socio-economic development and the rate of development, as well as regional differences on the level of districts. The example of Latgale has shown that a small number of people and a low rate of development in most of the region districts simultaneously create both the acute need for and a great challenge in the sphere of sustainable development. By contrast, as a result of both the quantitative and the qualitative assessment the population has been recognised to be the main driving force of the development of rural areas in Latgale region.

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Copyright of Social Sciences Bulletin / Sociālo Zinātņu Vēstnesis is the property of Socialo Zinatnu Vestnesis and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Transitioning or developing countries that are in the process of catching-up usually experience an increase in the productivity of the tradable goods sector. This often entails a subsequent increase in real wages, which may lead to higher wages in the non-trading sectors of the economy. If productivity in these sectors does not sufficiently increase, a country will experience rising inflation rates and an appreciation of their real exchange rate, which is known as the Balassa-Samuelson effect. Such a development can eventually hamper economic growth and welfare in a country and can also lead to a sudden stop and a serious crisis. In this paper, we first present a simple theoretical model inspired by Christopoulos et al. (2010) to highlight how structural changes in the economy that alter the sectoral structure of an economy and its wages and welfare level impact the real exchange rate. We will also provide empirical evidence for the case study in Latvia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microloans to small and medium-sized enterprises have become popular in many countries. However, evidence on the economic and social impact of microfinance is scarce. In an attempt to partly fill this gap, this paper looks at a case study and analyzes the economic impacts of the microloan programme of the Latvian development bank Hipoteku Banka. In our analysis, we focus on the following questions: Did the microloan programme increase employment within the supported firms? And was it able to contribute to the economic development of rural areas and the decrease of economic inequalities across regions? We find that the firms that were granted a loan from Hipoteku Banka on average considerably increased their employment during the loan period, as well as the microloan programme made a successful contribution to the economic development of rural regions in Latvia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regionally balanced economic development is one of the main aims of the European Union, which is reinforced by the high regional differentiation not only within the national borders, but also between the countries. Latvia is among the countries, which experience high regional differentiation. The dispersion of GDP per capita in Latvia is one of the highest in the European Union. The data on economic activity indicate that the increase of the level of competitiveness is delayed by the high inter-country differentiation, which is mostly dependent on the structural composition and regional specialization of the economy. Already for a rather long period of time the capital city region in Latvia has been ahead in the level of economic development, and other regions have not been able to compete with the capital. The article tries to show the importance of the structural composition and the specialization of the economy in the formation of high regional differentiation in Latvia, special attention being paid to the regions' contribution to the country's GDP, as well as the contribution of the economic sectors to the regions' GDP. Considering the differences in the structural composition among Latvian regions and the kinds of specialization, the present research clarifies that the branch structure of the economy is an important factor that affects and promotes high regional differentiation in Latvia. This is mainly because of the specialization on labour-intensive branches while only high-technology specialization contributes to the economic growth that can be observed in the Riga region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes an original empirical research, which is based on a topical issue about the impact of innovation on national economy. In conformity with theoretical and empirical research findings, innovation is one of the most important factors, which provides realization of economic potential. In the strategy Europe 2020 innovation has been granted an important role in the knowledge economy development processes. When assessing the role and contribution of innovative sectors in the European Union's economic development processes, it should be noted that innovation contributes to the economic development. At the same time the global economic downturn highlighted the importance of sustainability and stability of economy. Despite the role of innovation in ensuring economic development and enhance the competitiveness, innovation, however, does not ensure economic stability in times of economic downturn. This fact is illustrated by investments in R&D, reduction of value added and number of persons, who lost their jobs within sectors. The scientific novelty of this research is that the author has suggested, that the effect of innovation on sectors is different in different cycles of economic development. The aim of the research is to show the effect of innovation on different sectors of national economy in different cycles of economic development. To achieve the aim the following tasks were set: to evaluate the essence of innovation in the economic development processes in the European Union; to find out if innovation provides the stability of economy in the European Union during the global downturn. The research presented in this article is based on the following methods: scientific methods - analysis, synthesis, monographic method; economic method - institutional analysis; statistical methods - analytical grouping, state series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]