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The report covers the detailed findings of the European Research Data Landscape study for 2021-2022. It includes deliverables 3.2 (on researcher practices), 4.2 (on research data FAIRness), and 5.2 (on research data repositories).The study was commissioned by the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission (specific contract No LC-01592199),and carried out by Visionary Analytics, Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS), the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and the European Future Innovation System (EFIS) Centre.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-wes-10.1177_09500170211041296 for Adaptation Trajectories of Dismissed Workers: A Critical Case Study of the Lithuanian Radio-Electronics Sector by Žilvinas Martinaitis, Audronė Sadauskaitė and Mariachiara Barzotto in Work, Employment and Society

This report presents a discussion on how innovative professional development practices in higher education can help improve the teaching and the career progression of academics. It explores successful models and provides policy recommendations for higher education institutions and EU Member States. It accompanies the technical report ‘Innovating Professional Development in Higher Education: Case Studies’, JRC 2019., JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employment

Purpose – The public sector is one of the least addressed areas of intellectual capital (IC) research. Universities are an interesting area of investigation because they are considered critical players in the knowledge-based society. The purpose of this paper is to develop a more general, flexible and comprehensive “IC Maturity Model” for Universities (ICMM), a framework for defining and implementing IC measurement and management approaches, as part of the whole strategic management of universities. Thus, the ICMMproposes a staged framework to initiate a step-by-step change within a university based upon its current level of IC management maturity. The different steps of maturity might be an answer to cope with the huge diversity of European universities, some of which have strongmanagerial orientation, while others follow collegial forms of governance. Design/methodology/approach – The research approach is based on what has been called the “third stage” of IC research (Dumay and Garanina, 2013), focused on the practices of IC approaches rather than on its theoretical conceptualisation. The ICMM has been developed under the “Quality Assurance in Higher Education through Habilitation and Auditing” project framework, initiated by the Executive Agency for Higher Education and Research Funding of Romania (EUFISCDI). Three Mutual Learning Workshops (MLWs) were organised as a mean to bring together 15 international experts and practitioners to share their views and experience on IC reporting and setting up task forces. Findings – An ICMM, which is a flexible model of implementing IC approaches within public universities, is developed. The ICMM provides a theoretical continuum along which the process of maturity can be developed incrementally from one level to the next, moving from IC data collection, awareness of IC, adjustment of IC specific indicators, measurement of IC, reporting of IC, interpretation and decision making, strategy and planning.Research limitations/implications – Future research needs to conduct empirical studies in universities to generalise the effectiveness of the ICMM model and guidelines for implementation. Practical implications – The ICMM provides a staged framework to initiate a step-by-step change within a university based upon its current level of IC management maturity and its IC value creation dynamics. It allows universities to follow different paths, not necessarily a linear sequence. Originality/value – Although several methods for IC measurement and management exist, most of these cannot accommodate the trade-off between the comparability aims and the efforts to capture the institution’s uniqueness when designing an IC model. Keywords Public sector, Intellectual capital management, Strategic management, Universities, Maturity Model, Intellectual capital Paper type Research paper

Disertacijoje siekiama paaiškinti, kodėl Vidurio Rytų Europos šalyse išsivystė skirtingos gebėjimų formavimo sistemos, t.y. kodėl Baltijos šalyse ir mažesniu mastu Lenkijoje bei Vengrijoje per pastaruosius 20 metų iškilo bendrųjų gebėjimų formavimo sistemos, o Čekijoje, Slovėnijoje ir Slovakijoje – specifinių gebėjimų formavimo sistemos? Darbe teigiama, kad tai nulėmė skirtingos darbo rinkos, ekonominės ir politinės institucijos. Stiprios darbdavių asociacijos, aukštas darbo vietos apsaugos lygis, dosnios išmokos bedarbiams, proporcinė rinkimų sistema ir Vyriausybių stabilumas yra būtinos sąlygos specifinių gebėjimų formavimo sistemoms atsirasti. Jei vienos ar kelių iš įvardintų institucijų nėra, tuomet atsiranda pakankamos sąlygos bendrųjų gebėjimų formavimo sistemos atsiradimui. Hipotezės tikrinamos remiantis neapibrėžtųjų aibių ir apibrėžtos regresijos (angl. robust regression) metodais. The dissertation seeks to explain, why different skills formation systems have emerged in Central and Eastern Europe over the past 20 years. More specifically, it investigates, why the labor force acquires general skills in the Baltic States, Poland and Hungary, while specific skills are of utmost importance in the Czech and Slovak Republics and Slovenia? The dissertation argues that these differences can be explained by the labor market, economic and political institutions. Strong employers’ associations, high employment security, generous unemployment benefits, proportional electoral system and government stability are necessary for emergence of specific skills formation systems, while absence of these institutions is sufficient for the emergence of general skills formation systems. The dissertation employs fuzzy set techniques and robust regression to test the hypotheses empirically.

The dissertation seeks to explain, why different skills formation systems have emerged in Central and Eastern Europe over the past 20 years. More specifically, it investigates, why the labor force acquires general skills in the Baltic States, Poland and Hungary, while specific skills are of utmost importance in the Czech and Slovak Republics and Slovenia? The dissertation argues that these differences can be explained by the labor market, economic and political institutions. Strong employers’ associations, high employment security, generous unemployment benefits, proportional electoral system and government stability are necessary for emergence of specific skills formation systems, while absence of these institutions is sufficient for the emergence of general skills formation systems. The dissertation employs fuzzy set techniques and robust regression to test the hypotheses empirically. Disertacijoje siekiama paaiškinti, kodėl Vidurio Rytų Europos šalyse išsivystė skirtingos gebėjimų formavimo sistemos, t.y. kodėl Baltijos šalyse ir mažesniu mastu Lenkijoje bei Vengrijoje per pastaruosius 20 metų iškilo bendrųjų gebėjimų formavimo sistemos, o Čekijoje, Slovėnijoje ir Slovakijoje – specifinių gebėjimų formavimo sistemos? Darbe teigiama, kad tai nulėmė skirtingos darbo rinkos, ekonominės ir politinės institucijos. Stiprios darbdavių asociacijos, aukštas darbo vietos apsaugos lygis, dosnios išmokos bedarbiams, proporcinė rinkimų sistema ir Vyriausybių stabilumas yra būtinos sąlygos specifinių gebėjimų formavimo sistemoms atsirasti. Jei vienos ar kelių iš įvardintų institucijų nėra, tuomet atsiranda pakankamos sąlygos bendrųjų gebėjimų formavimo sistemos atsiradimui. Hipotezės tikrinamos remiantis neapibrėžtųjų aibių ir apibrėžtos regresijos (angl. robust regression) metodais.

Per paskutinius porą dešimtmečių tiek senosiose Vakarų demokratijose, tiek buvusiose pokomunistinėse Vidurio ir Rytų Europos valstybėse išplito iniciatyvos, kuriomis siekiama modernizuoti arba „perkurti“ valstybės valdymą. Procedūrinės ir vangiai veikiančios, biurokratinės XX a. organizacijos priešpastatytos novatoriškoms, lanksčioms ir veiksmingoms šiuolaikinėms organizacijoms. Nepaisant išaugusio visuomenės ir akademinės bendruomenės susidomėjimo inovacijomis viešojo sektoriaus organizacijose, vis dar stokojama vieningos inovatyvumo kilmės teorijos. Šiame straipsnyje siekiama įvertinti pagrindinius veiksnius, paaiškinančius inovacijų plėtrą Lietuvos viešojo sektoriaus organizacijose. Straipsnyje pristatoma empirinė analizė remiasi pagal COBRA (lyginamosios viešojo sektoriaus organizacijų duomenų bazės tyrimams bei analizei) metodologiją atliktos Lietuvos viešojo sektoriaus organizacijų apklausos rezultatais. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad struktūriniai pajėgumai yra svarbiausias veiksnys, paaiškinantis organizacinių inovacijų sklaidą: didesnės, o ne mažesnės organizacijos aktyviau kuria ir vysto naujus produktus bei paslaugas. Dar daugiau, tyrimas taip pat atskleidė, kad naujojo viešojo valdymo paradigmos prielaidos Lietuvoje nepasitvirtina: didesnė valdymo autonomija bei veiklos skatinimas neužtikrina inovacijų plėtros. Tyrime atliktas administracinės kultūros vaidmens skatinant inovacijų plėtrą viešosiose organizacijose vertinimas neleidžia daryti vienareikšmiškų išvadų, tad šioje srityje reikia tolimesnių tyrinėjimų. The article seeks to assess the main factors explaining innovations in the Lithuanian public sector organisations. The empirical analysis is based on the COBRA survey of the Lithuanian public sector organisations. Our results indicate that the structural capacity is the most important explanation behind organisational innovations: larger organisations are more likely to develop new products and services than small ones. Furthermore, we found that the New Public Management argument does not hold in Lithuania: higher managerial autonomy and incentives for performance do not foster innovations. The assessment of importance of administrative culture yielded mixed results, and more research is needed in this area

Straipsnyje nustatoma, kas turėjo didesnį poveikį: ar ES, ar nacionaliniai veiksniai, steigiant naujas viešojo sektoriaus organizacijas ir apibrėžiant jų autonomijos bei kontrolės ribas. COBRA 2008 m. apklausos rezultatų ir kitų duomenų analizė parodė, kad ES turėjo gerokai didesnį poveikį viešojo sektoriaus organizacijų daugėjimui nei nacionaliniai veiksniai (valdančiųjų koalicijų ir makroekonominės padėties kaita). Kita vertus, Lietuvo¬ je dominuojanti kontinentinės Europos teisinė tradicija turėjo gerokai didesnį poveikį organizacijų autonomijos ir kontrolės tvarkai nei ES. The paper seeks to assess, whether the EU or the domestic factors had a stronger impact on the proliferation of public sector organisations and on the degree of their autonomy and control. The results of the COBRA 2008 survey indicate that the EU was the main driving force behind the setting up of public sector organisations in Lithuania. The impact of domestic factors (changes in the governing coalitions and macroeconomic developments) was considerably smaller and not consistent. However, the degree of autonomy and control of the Lithuanian public sector organisations is largely explained by the dominating continen¬ tal European legal tradition rather than the EU pre- and post-accession processes.

Per pastaruosius kelerius metus Europos Komisija aktyviai propaguoja vadinamąją „flexicurity“ strategiją, kurią Europos Sąjungos valstybės narės privalo įgyvendinti vykdydamos savo nacionalinių darbo rinkų reformas. Ši strategija reiškia tai, jog europinis modelis propaguoja viešąją politiką, orientuotą tiek į darbo rinkos ir darbo santykių organizavimo lankstumo skatinimą, tiek į darbo vietų ir socialinio saugumo užtikrinimą. Šiame straipsnyje siekiama apsvarstyti potencialią šios strategijos įgyvendinimo Lietuvoje naudą. Atliktas tyrimas skatina daryti porą reikšmingų išvadų. Pirma, „flexicurity“ strategijos efektyvumo hipotezė stokoja solidaus teorinio pagrindo ir empirinių įrodymų. Ši išvada leidžia manyti, kad aktyviai Europos Sąjungos propaguojamos minėtos strategijos naudos valstybėms narėms gali būti nerealistinės. Antra, straipsnyje iškeliama idėja, jog Lietuvos darbo rinka susiduria su keletu specifinių, tik mūsų valstybei būdingų iššūkių, kurie buvo paveldėti iš daugiau nei dešimtmetį trukusios ekonominės ir politinės transformacijos laikotarpio. Tai leidžia daryti prielaida, kad vietoje bandymų aklai vykdyti Europos Komisijos propaguojamas reformas, Lietuvos viešosios politikos sprendimų priėmėjai į prioritetinių darbų sąrašą visų pirma turėtų įtraukti du tikslus – institucinių pajėgumų stiprinimą ir efektyvesnį patvirtintų viešosios politikos kursų įgyvendinimą. Over the past few years the EU Commission has widely promoted the flexicurity strategy, which the Member States should adopt during the reforms of their labour markets. This paper seeks to provide a crirical assessment of the potential merits of adopting the strategy in Lithuania. The main findings are twofold. First, the paper found that the hypothesis behind the flexicurity strategy lack solid theoretical and empirical support, which implies that the widely promoted benefits of the strategy might fail to realise. Second, the paper argues that the labour market policy in Lithuania faces a number of country - specific challenges, which were inherited from more than a decade long economic and political transition. Hence, instead of attempting "copy-pasting" the reforms advocated by the EU Commission, the Lithuanian policy makers should put the institutional capacity building and increasing effectiveness of adopted policies at the top of the list of priorities.

Straipsnis apibendrina esamas žinias apie gyventojų emigracijos iš Lietuvos mastus ir pobūdį, nagrinėja emigracijos priežastis ir siekia nustatyti žinių apie šį procesą spragas. Atlikti tyrimai rodo, kad emigracijos iš Lietuvos mastai yra didžiausi iš visų Europos Sąjungos (toliau ES) šalių. Daugelis autorių teigia, kad pagrindinis tai lemiantis veiksnys yra santykinai žemas darbo užmokesčio lygis Lietuvoje. Tačiau toks aiškinimas nėra pakankamas ir reikėtų ieškoti gilesnių struktūrinių problemų. Todėl straipsnyje pateikiama ir tikrinama alternatyvi hipotezė. Teigiama, kad sparčiai didėjanti aukštos kvalifikacijos specialistų pasiūla ir gerokai lėčiau – jų paklausa Lietuvos darbo rinkoje sudaro disbalansą. Įgytą kvalifikaciją atitinkančių darbo vietų stoka skatina kvalifikuotus specialistus emigruoti arba darbo rinkoje išstumti žemesnės kvalifikacijos asmenis, dėl to ir pastarieji emigruoja. Emigration is considered to be the most important non-military threat to Lithuania. It has considerable negative influence on demography, challenges Lithuania’s long term growth prospects, development of national cultural identity, etc. However, despite the increasing importance of the phenomenon, there are considerable knowledge gaps about the nature of emigration and the main reasons behind it. Hence, this paper seeks to review existing literature, analyze explanations of the phenomenon and identify areas for future research. Available statistical data indicates that approx. 10% of Lithuania’s residents have emigrated over past 16 years. According to Eurostat data, Lithuania also had the highest rate of emigration in the EU in 2005. Moreover, opinion polls indicate that this trend is likely to continue in the future. The most geographically mobile group consists of young university graduates who are entering the labour market. Most of the research done in this field explains high rates of emigration as a result of relatively low wage levels. The connection between these variables is based on the results of the opinion polls. However, this is subject to several criticisms. The opinion polls are excellent in revealing individual level push factors; however the design of the polls does not facilitate the analysis of systemic factors. Moreover, policy implications of this argument are not adequate. Accor ding to the logic of the argument the policy makers should sit still for a couple of decades until the real convergence between Lithuania and other EU Members takes place. However, this could lead to a low level equilibrium: high levels of emigration of qualified persons would retard Lithuania’s growth prospects, which would facilitate even higher levels of emigration, but would not lead to real convergence. In the face of the criticisms of established explanations we provide an alternative one. It focuses on the structural imbalances in the labour market. When the supply of highly qualified persons grows considerably faster than demand (number of high quality jobs), then: a) some of the qualified labour force emigrate after facing the failure of integration in the labour market; b) or take jobs that do not require high qualifications by suppressing the wage level and pushing out of the labour market persons with lower qualifications, which facilitates the emigration of the latter. The available statistical data indicates that the supply of university graduates has more than doubled over the past decade, but slow development of the knowledge intensive sectors failed to create considerable demand for the qualified employees. The result of these developments is high levels of emigration of young university graduates and considerable size of the pushing out effect. The policy implication of this argument is relatively straightforward: the problem of emigration should be tackled by facilitating the growth of the knowledge intensive sectors, which would generate higher quality jobs and reduction of the imbalances in the labour market. The paper also seeks to identify areas for future in the field of emigration from Lithuania. The key knowledge gaps include: lack of comparative studies that aim to explain why Lithuania has the highest level of emigration in the EU; lack of reliable statistical data regarding the structure of the emigrants. There is also a considerable lack of understanding of the labour market issues: what is the actual structure of the labour market? What about the supply and demand for specific qualifications? What policy tools are available for facilitating the creation of more and better jobs?

Name of the thesis: Platform economy and consumer protection mechanism. Do the principles that work on the platforms solve the “lemons” problem better than traditional state regulation? Problem Statement of the Thesis: As many goods and services move online, it is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to determine the quality of goods and services, realizing that rogue entrepreneurs take advantage of the information available and subsequently oust honest entrepreneurs from the market by providing poor quality goods or services at lower cost. mStates have a myriad of regulatory mechanisms in place to protect consumers, and platforms are, at first sight, already self-regulatory entities, setting their own roles and conditions as intermediaries and setting standards for the behavior of platforms. For this reason, the platforms argue that they should not be hampered from the outside, believing that they have more knowledge and better enforcement mechanisms than public authorities. Aim of the Thesis: To assess whether consumer protection mechanisms operating on online platforms solve market problems, such as the "lemon" problem, better than traditional state regulation. Hypothesis: Consumer protection mechanisms integrated into the platforms solve the "lemon" problem better than state regulation. In order to test the hypothesis and find the answer to the main question of our research, we need to determine how the consumer protection mechanisms implemented in the platforms work, whether these mechanisms help consumers to make the right decisions (form good deals) and whether the principles operating on the platforms can overcome market problems without state intervention. After analyzing both public and private initiatives in the food services market, we found that evaluations, reputation and feedback mechanisms are used as the main mechanisms for consumer protection in the market. Both the govrnment regulation and the platforms, which we have examined, use ratings to distinguish between restaurants that provide poor and good service quality. The use of reputation mechanisms helps to promote high-quality service providers, improve operations and eliminate unscrupulous and low-quality service providers from the market. During the research we found out that all three examined food ordering platforms aim to provide consumers with the widest possible information about the restaurants on the platforms, prices and quality of their services, and after ordering seek to receive feedback on services from the consumer. Thus, when comparing the availability and convenience of information, platforms gain an advantage by reducing the time spent by the user to obtain information about the relevant restaurant, providing more detailed information about the price and quality of services. Comparisons between government and platform ratings show that while, on average, restaurants are rated similarly, government and consumer ratings do not show a significant correlation or statistical relationship when comparing the same restaurants, but user ratings across platforms correlate. This indicates that consumers may not rely on or take into account government estimates, but rather the information provided to them on the platforms, the experience of other users using restaurant services. We suggest public policy makers to look at the differences found, in order to ensure consumer protection in food services markets, as government regulation is the very first level that can distinguish “lemons” in the food services market from quality service companies. The introduction of a more flexible rating mechanism, cooperation with platforms and consumers, including their ratings, could help to obtain a more comprehensive assessment of the restaurant, thus taking consumer protection mechanisms to a much higher level.

This master thesis seeks to solve two problems – theoretical and practical one. The theoretical problem is related to which human capital theory can explain the case of Lithuania. The practical problem of the research is that in Lithuania there is a discrepancy between the human capital acquired during higher education and the demand of the labour market. The main task of the research is to answer the main question of the thesis: what can explain the return to the investment in human capital the most – innate abilities, higher education duration or the quality of higher education. In order to answer this question, the theory applied in the thesis is based on the model of the development of the human capital, which state that there are three interrelated things that can explain the return to human capital. The first part of the model is related to person’s innate abilities, that depend on nature and nurture. For example, innate abilities are related to genes, to socio-economic situation of parents, to quality of school, etc. In this study, the innate abilities variable is operationalised as the average entrance score of the field of study in higher education. This way the entrance score can represent the human capital that person accumulates in the early phases of life. The second part of the model is related to the quality of higher education. Research shows that there exists the return to higher education quality. In this research this higher education variable is operationalized as the average evaluation of the study field. Data of the average evaluations is based on Study Quality Assessment Center. The third part of the model is related to the duration of higher education. Human capital theories state that the time investment “today” in human capital will have a greater return in the following periods. This variable is operationalized as studies in university and college, controlling the signal that the higher education institution has in the public space. This study also examines the impact on the return on investment of whether a person is working in a high or low skilled occupation. Multiple linear regression models are used in the study. Main data used in this study are STRATA open data on average salaries of school graduates, STRATA open data on entrance scores of study fields, open data of the Study Quality Assessment Center on the evaluation of study programs, data of the magazine “Reitingai” that shows what signal higher education institutions have in the public space. The results of multiple linear regressions showed that when applying the human capital development model variables separately, they have a positive effect on the average income of graduates. However, in the general statistical model, which examines all the main variables of human capital development model, only the higher education duration variable is statistically significant and has a positive effect on the average salaries of graduates. When the proportion of graduates working in high or low-skilled occupations was included in the statistical models, the explanatory power of the models increased significantly. When the impact of the human capital development model on the proportion of graduates working in high or low-skilled occupations was analysed, it was found that the average entrance score, higher education study duration and the field of study have a statistically significant and positive effect on the proportion variables. Therefore, it can be said the high / low-skilled occupation is an intermediate variable, that is influenced by the average entrance score of the student, in which field of study he/she studies and for how long he/she chooses to study, and that it in itself influences the average income of graduates.

This thesis analyses the impact of skills on social insurance preferences. As the world develops and modernises, so does the gap between high- and low-income earners, and technological progress is changing the way work is organized. In today's context, one of the biggest challenges in the labour market is computerisation. This process and technologies such as robots, artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data help to produce cheaper products in many areas, perform day-to-day tasks more productively, gather and systematize information, or increase business and employee productivity. However, there is an increasing risk that employees’ skills may be computerized and existing skills may no longer be needed. According to Iversen and D. Soskice’s Asset Theory of Social Policy Preferences, people demand more social insurance to insure themselves against risk if their skills become no longer needed in the market. In this context, the study examines whether workers whose professions and skills are at high risk of computerisation are more in favour of social insurance than workers at low risk of computerisation. In this thesis, social insurance was analysed using two approaches. It was investigated whether people at high risk of computerisation are in favour of more (1) social services or more (2) benefits. Thus, five main research tasks were performed in this bachelor's thesis: (1) the Asset Theory of Social Policy Preferences and computerisation theories were reviewed, (2) professions were classified according to the probability of being computerised, (3) a research model was developed, (4) an individual-level quantitative analysis for three data blocks: six CEE countries, the Baltic States and Lithuania, was performed, (5) finally, the impact of skills on social insurance was identified. The fulfilment of these tasks helped to achieve the main goal of the thesis - to find out whether skills affect (and if so - how) preferences for social insurance. In order to obtain representative results and compare them in three data blocks, quantitative analysis at the individual level using binary logistic regression was chosen as the main research method. Analysis of the CEE and the Baltic countries has shown that there is a link between skills and preferences on social insurance, however, not in both analysed approaches. People, in the face of the risk of computerization, are more likely to opt for social benefits (to get at least a minimum monthly income level) than social services, e.g. educational programs for the unemployed to retrain in the event of job loss. However, the case of Lithuania was slightly different and both hypotheses were not confirmed. This means that in Lithuania the risk of computerization of professions and skills does not affect preferences regarding social insurance.

Employees preferences for state protection against a possible loss of income due to unemployment: a skills-based approach. This study aims to examine the causal link between the skill set used by employees in their occupation and their preferences for state protection against a possible loss of income due to unemployment. State protection is operationalized as a government support to declining industries to save jobs and government expenditure on unemployment benefits. The skill set is defined as the number of skills used in occupations and their depth. The latter variable is related to education, as higher education leads to deeper skills, so depth is considered as an intervening variable. The theoretical background of the study is based on two aspects. Firstly, taking into account T. Iversen and D. Soskice asset theory, J. Goldthorpe class scheme model, and the studies of W. Streeck, E. Lazaer, A. Christenko, Ž. Martinaitis, and S. Gaušas, the individualistic approach to the skill set is reviewed. Based on these studies, three hypotheses were raised. Less support for government protection is determined by 1) increasing number of skills, 2) increasing depth of skills and 3) higher level of education. Secondly, the influence of skills on preferences can be explained not only through the substantive dimension (nature of the skill set) but also through the economic dimension - structural differences across countries, that rely on macro aspects. In order to control such differences, the works of P. Hall and D. Soskice, G. Esping-Andersen, G. Bonoli, M. Fenger and J. Aidukaitė have been reviewed and the factors of the economic dimension were taken into account by clustering the 22 surveyed countries into five categories that best define aspects of their employment relationship regulation and the role of the government. Therefore, the fourth hypothesis states that the explanatory power of the causal link between employees’ skill sets and their preferences should persist regardless of the country category. The study was performed using binary logistic regression and data from the International Social Survey Programme. Empirical evidence shows that the first, third and the fourth hypotheses were confirmed. Employees with more skills and higher education are less likely to support government protection against a possible loss of income due to unemployment. At the same time, the fourth hypothesis is also partially confirmed - the causal relationship between employees' preferences and the number of their skills and education persists regardless of the country category. However, considering the relatively low performance of the models, it can be argued that the causal link is likely to be much stronger if independent variables were to be selected from economic factors related to structural differences among the countries.

This thesis explores a paradox that occurred from the inability of dominant neoliberal theories to explain the changes that occurred in the labour markets of Central and Eastern European countries during the economic transition of 1989-2004. This thesis seeks to explain the mechanisms via which individuals adapt to labour markets affected by structural economic changes. An extreme case of transition (Lithuanian consumer electronics sector labour force) is explored. A theoretical model is constructed by relaxing two perfect market assumptions of neoclassical labour economic theory– perfect information and competition. A job search perspective is used to understand how individuals and firms overcome information asymmetries in the labour market. Job search via formal methods (i.e. those involving formal intermediaries) is costly and poorly concentrated in terms of gathering information about a labour market segment relevant to individual’s skills. Job search via informal channels (i.e. social networks) is less costly as job offers tend to appear more quickly and with less search effort. However, former co-workers tend to have better information about industry “insiders’” skills and jobs that they would fit well into. Similarly, family and friends often do not possess the “insider” information relevant to the job seeker. Due to bounded rationality, individuals tend to take unfit job offers to minimize information collection costs. A skills perspective is used to conceptualise the success of individual adaptation. The larger the extent to which old skill-sets are used in a new job, the less productivity is foregone and investment in reskilling is needed, the more successful the adaptation. Three hypotheses about the relation between job search methods and the success of adaptation are formulated. Individuals that find a job with the help of co-workers fare the best due to “insider” information (H1), those that find a job with the help of friends and family fare the worst as they do not have access to such privileged information (H3) and using formal methods may lead to all outcomes in terms of skill adaptation due to the randomness of the information acquired through formal search (H2). The empirical analysis rests on 50 in-depth interviews with former employees of the Lithuanian consumer electronics sector. Data was analysed via a Qualitative Comparative Analysis and a qualitative content analysis. The results corroborate the hypotheses to a large extent. The dominant job search tendency of individuals that use a related (largely unchanged) skill-set in a new job was obtaining job offers from former co-workers or bosses. The dominant job search tendency of individuals that had to reskill (obtain some new skills in lieu of irrelevant old skills) was to find a job via formal means. Those that experienced deskilling (using a small part of an old skill-set without obtaining new skills) tended to find jobs both via co-workers and via friends and family. An additional hypothesis is proposed to explain this unexpected tendency by taking into account the risk-averseness of an individual. Other adaptation mechanisms were also explored in light of relevant theoretical explanations. The thesis contributes to theoretical discussions of skill mismatches in labour markets by linking together the insights from work on job search methods and skills. Explaining how various adaptation mechanisms influence the skills of the labour force offers policy insights on how to reduce labour market skill mismatches. For example, encouraging “recycling” of old skills during industrial restructuring is a less costly way of transformation than reskilling of the labour force, which often takes place when new sectors are emerging. Public investment in better formal information transmission channels can also contribute to better skill matches.

School Leaders Perception of the School Autonomy and Control and the Impact on Pupil Achievement PISA studies that show that Lithuania's pupil achievement are poor in comparison with other countries (PISA, 2012). That means, that school is not as effective as it could be and we need to search for a reasons why. OECD surveys show that higher school achievement is characterized by countries with more autonomous schools. This work assumes that the level of autonomy in schools varies due to the different perception of principals, how this autonomy and control can be used. In this paper, the results of pupils' achievement (school effectiveness) are analyzed through the school prism of control and autonomy, based on the basic principles of public administration paradigms (traditional administration and new public management) and leadership in education. Research object is school leaders perception of the school autonomy and control. The research aim is to find out if there can be striking differences between schools with low achievements, and schools with high achievements, based on the perceived autonomy of school leaders. Three hypotheses are raised: 1. Leaders in low school achievement schools are less autonomous and less accountable; 2. Leaders of high school achievement use greater autonomy and accountability; 3. Greater autonomy is linked with stronger leadership of the director. Tasks: a) to identify the autonomy and control conditions in legal acts; b) to compare schools with low student achievement and schools with high achievements according to their perceived level of autonomy and control in various fields; c) to determine if perceived autonomy and control relates to student achievement; d) identify whether the autonomy and control is linked to leadership in the school; In this paper, we will concentrate on analyzing three areas: resource management, personnel management, organization of educational process. The study was carried out using qualitative research methods. The experience of school leaders is analyzed in a narrative way. Two schools of different groups were compared: medium-high school achievement achievements and schools with moderately low achievement. The school list is based on the years 2013-2017 of matematics test. In order to compare similar schools, schools from municipalities were selected. The results of the narrative analysis revealed that schools with low achievements have a lower perception of autonomy in all areas, with the exception of the organization of education, in which this perception is low by the leaders of both groups of schools. In this area, autonomy is not exploited, although the law allows for wider action. Meanwhile, schools with high achievements have a wider sense of autonomy in personnel management, resource management and control. Thus, the first and second hypotheses have been partly upheld, as it is possible to notice that leaders of low school achievements are less aware of their autonomy, but the accountability is the same as those of high-level executives who enjoy a greater perceived autonomy. Different types of leadership vary in different areas of autonomy. It can be noted that school leaders whose pupils achievement are good are more likely to be characterized by transformational and shared leadership. Meanwhile, in all areas of autonomy, transactional leadership was identified in low achievements group, although in the area of resource management, it was possible to identify shared features of leadership and staff management was transformational. According to research data, these types of leadership are better than transactional leadership. So, the third hypothesis is accepted, and leadership is associated with higher autonomy and better student achievement.

Publications Financed by the Research Council of Lithuania: On or Under the Wave? The aim of this thesis was to determine whether Research Council of Lithuania (RCL) finances research projects that represent the most promising emerging research trends or research fields that have a cumulative advantage. Hypotheses were formulated based on two branches of new institutionalism – sociological institutionalism and historical institutionalism. A bibliometric analysis was carried out, publications funded by RCL and other financial sources were evaluated and compared by researching their keywords. The hypotheses were tested by using binomial logistic regression, which allowed to estimate the implicit effects of independent variables on the scientists’ choice of the research topic, as well as try to reveal the differences and specificities of publications funded by RCL and other financial sources. The trends revealed in the paper were not particularly pronounced and the relationship between the research topic and the funding of RCL was statistically insignificant, so none of the hypotheses put forward at the beginning of the study proved to be valid. However, the study revealed that RCL does not essentially differ from other competitive research funding institutions. Thus, the introduction of RCL funding does not seem to have affected the incentives for Lithuanian scientists to alter their choice of research topics.

Impact of Active Learning and Teaching on Students Achievement More than ever, life and work in the twenty-first century require specific skills: in terms of creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration, digital skills, adaptability and openness. It is a matter of concern whether today's school is capable of helping children develop these abilities. As a result, active teaching and learning methods are becoming increasingly popular. So far, little has been said about active learning in Lithuania. The National Education Strategy 2013-2022 and the Law on Education do not even mention the concept of "active learning" or "student-oriented learning". However, documents are already being developed on the importance of such learning. Therefore, one of the aims of the study is to determine whether the active teaching and learning practice in Lithuania is successful and is reflected in the PISA results. If it proves to be true, then aspects of the Good School concept could be put into other strategic documents that are mandatory. Academic literature on education policy is predominantly related to teaching methods: research-based learning, problem solving, group work, collaboration and experiential learning, use of information communication technologies, student-centered learning. However, the theory of constructivism claims that children learn not only by doing something actively, but also by consciously constructing their knowledge. This aspect is more often addressed by psychologists or educators, but it is equally important in shaping educational policy. Similarly, there is little research in the academic literature on the relationship between teaching and learning. The purpose of the research is to determine whether teaching, learning and teaching and learning methods (active, passive) congruence leads to better student achievement. Three hypotheses of the research were raised based on review and analysis of constructivism theories and other researches: H1: active teaching has a positive impact on student achievement. H2: active learning has a positive impact on student achievement. H3: The combination of a student's learning method and a teacher's teaching method leads to better student achievement. These hypotheses were tested using PISA 2012 data. The students‘ mathematical achievements were used, as this was the main area of study in 2012. From this data two main independent variables and control variables was constructed. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis were used for analysis. Similarly, validation tests for regression models were performed. After the discussion of the results of linear regression analysis models, the conclusions and recommendations of the work were presented. The first hypothesis was confirmed: active teaching has a positive impact on student achievement. This shows that the teacher's performance in the classroom and his chosen strategies affects the development of students' mathematical abilities. The second and third hypothesis were not confirmed: active learning has a positive impact on student achievement, the combination of a student's learning method and a teacher's teaching method leads to better student achievement. In further studies, it is recommended to take into account the research restrictions described in the study and to improve the quality of the research by expanding the analysis model or using additional data sources. Also, analyse data of other countries that have a similar educational structure and problems to reveal the impact of variables that were insignificant in this study (learning, congruence of teaching and learning methods). It is recommended to study other areas of education (sciences, reading).

Acceptance towards Low-Skilled Migrants' Experience in Lithuanian Companies Return migration has started playing a significant role in a scientific discourse since the change in the migration process was noticed. While studying the aspects of this phenomenon, the problems that migrants face after coming back to their home countries are being given more attention. It is important that those problems are solved and the re-emigration is avoided. Two theories are usually cited to analyse the migrant integration: G.S. Becker's human capital theory and M. Spence's signalling theory. Each theory proposes conflicting interpretations of a successful labour market integration. These opposed theories led to take a look at the Lithuanian case and to reveal which one can provide the best explanation about the factors affecting the labour market integration of returned migrants. Previous studies, which mainly focused on the factors directly dependent on the migrants, have left a niche for further investigation. This time the phenomenon is being analysed from the perspective of Lithuanian companies. Therefore, one of the main goals of this final project is to determine what reasons play a major role in the acceptance towards the low-skilled returned migrants' experience in the Lithuanian labour market. The research of this final project includes a qualitative analysis as well as interviews with returned migrants and representatives of Lithuanian companies. The first part of the data analysis is dedicated to investigate the position of the returned migrants. The results proved that the majority of returned migrants face difficulties during their labour market integration. Reasons creating problems, according to the migrants, is their lack of education and experience or the fact that employers do not consider their migration experience to be relevant for the job. Migrants also named their high expectations as one of the factors. The second part of the data analysis was focused on the attitudes of the companies towards the low-skilled returned migrants. The collected data showed that the main factors for the acceptance towards the low-skilled migrants' experience in Lithuanian companies are their work experience and its relevance to the specific job. The perception of a migrant as an employee with higher expectations and their lower stability level was looked at as well. The results also showed that both human capital and signalling theories can be applied when explaining the Lithuanian case on the subject. Neither of them is more suitable: analysing the position of the returned migrants the human capital theory seems to play a bigger role, whereas to understand the position of the companies clearer interpretations can be achieved using the signalling theory as well. Therefore, the best way to fully understand the phenomenon is to combine both of the mentioned theories.

This thesis analyses age orientation of welfare states in CEE countries. In the context of the current demographic changes, how the welfare states address the risks faced by people at different stages in the life course affects both citizens’ lives and the capacity of national economies to adapt to new conditions. For this reason, it is becoming more and more important to evaluate what different welfare states do to ensure welfare of their elderly and young citizens. With few exceptions, there is very little comparative evidence on the age orientation of social policies in OECD countries – and none in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. Age orientation of welfare states in this region is analysed for the first time in this thesis. Age orientation is measured by calculating Elderly/Children Spending Ratio (ECSR). It discloses significant differences of social policies’ age orientation among CEE countries. Two of the most exceptional cases are Poland and Hungary. Welfare state’s age orientation of these similar countries is completely different. Social policy of Poland is elderly- oriented while social policy of Hungary is youth- oriented. Therefore the purpose of this research is to explain what determines the differences of the welfare states age orientation in Poland and Hungary. Most of the traditional theories have little potential to explain welfare states’ age orientation of CEE countries. This article analyses process of formation of welfare states’ age orientation in Poland and Hungary from the perspective of new institutionalism, namely historical institutionalism. Partisan competition and fragmentation of social system are two main institutions that have determined age orientation of welfare states in Poland and Hungary. Comparative systemic process analysis reveals that welfare states’ age orientation of Poland and Hungary is determined by two historical critical junctures. Firstly, weak communist party in Poland sought for political support of narrow groups. It caused creation of special pensions privileges and pension system fragmentation. For this reason public pension spending was higher than spending for children and families – Poland became oriented toward elderly. In Hungary communist party was stronger therefore there was no reason for creating of special pensions privileges. Hungary spending for families and children was generous – it became youth oriented. The second critical juncture occurred during the first years of transition. Partisan competition of Poland was especially fragmented so it was important for parties to get political support of particular groups. For this reason, parties increased pension system fragmentation by creating new and maintaining old pensions privileges. Extremely expanded pension spending was partly financed by diminished spending for families and children – Poland‘s welfare state‘s age orientation toward elderly was significantly strengthened. Partisan competition of Hungary was stronger therefore it remained youth oriented. After that, welfare states‘ age orientation of these two countries followed the same path.