Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation

Understanding how soil systems respond to atmospheric forcing is critical not only for environmental science but also for defence operations requiring accurate terrain assessment. This study quantifies depth‑dependent and delayed soil responses to meteorological drivers using lag‑correlation analysis across six operational military monitoring stations (2022–2024). The results demonstrate that soil–atmosphere coupling exhibits strong station‑specific variability, with response times ranging from hours to several weeks depending on soil type and depth.

The aim of this article is to evaluate the tenure of Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, through the lens of successes and failures on the international stage with selected countries. From a research perspective, Landsbergis’s term at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be analyzed in the context of continuity and change within Lithuanian foreign policy, framed by the neo-idealism approach. This analysis revealed that despite the lack of strategic guidelines for Lithuania’s foreign policy, it was perceived by external stakeholders as relatively predictable and values-driven, particularly with regard to specific actions taken by the Lithuanian government towards China, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

Sustainable and secure development of any country is considerably affected by energy efficiency of economy. Efforts directed to diminishing of energy resources consumed have to be directed to achieving multiple goals, ultimately impacting demand in energy resources. Hence, ultimate demand of energy resources depend on economic growth rates, economy structure, technological level, distribution of income and behavioral patterns, both of business companies and households. This paper is devoted to analysis of energy efficiency in transport sector of three secected European countries. The methodology of research is based on comparison on long-term tendencies of energy intensity in transport equipment segment. The long-term forecasting untill year 2050 will be performed by using LEAP (the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning system) software; ceteris paribus assumption will be selected. The countries selected for analysis are: Belgium, Bulgaria and Lithuania. The selected countries, we assume, would represent better developed Europea countries (represented by e.g. Belgium), and comparitively less developed European countries of different size (represented by Bulgaria and Lithuania). The juxatopsing of energy intensity change in long run, revealing mode of this change and comparison of cases of selected countries, would allow to reveal if energy efficiency of transport equipment converge. Since trnasport equipment sector embraces various modes of transport, additionally public roads sector will be tackled. We believe, that results obtained will signal what policy implications, if any, are necessary in order to direct transport users towards stewardship of energy resources through increase of efficiency of conventional energy resources and transfer to renewables in the nearest future.

The relevance of this article is based on the aim to fulfil the lack of understanding of public perception on nuclear energy in Lithuania. The results of the empirical survey (public poll carried out in 2013) are used to explain the public perception of nuclear energy and its contextual aspects (safety, economic benefit, possible new challenges, personal knowledge). To show the distribution of the attitude among the public cluster analysis was performed through which respondents were divided into two groups. The 1st cluster represents that part of the public which is well educated, actively working and actively contributing to the state economy. Meanwhile the 2nd is less educated, less active economically and more dependent on social security programs part of the public. The cluster analysis reveals small, but statistically significant differences in attitude between the clusters.

The paper presents research which investigates the implications of national culture and organizational culture in the Lithuanian and Russian SMEs. While much of the attention has been given to organizational culture in large companies, little research has been focused on organizational and national culture in SMEs. The research is based on the main ideas of Hofstede’s framework of seven cultural dimensions and Denison’s cultural model, which measures culture in organizations with four major traits, such as involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. The quantitative research is based on responses to a questionnaire embracing various aspects of national and organizational culture. The authors of the research have elaborated proposals for further research.