Suchergebnisse

General characteristics and relevance of the topic. In 1995's issue of the scientific journal Public Administration Review Robert D. Behn (1995) referring to the analogy of the science of physics formulated three major questions which, in his opinion, scholars of public management should be concerned about in the 21st century. One of them was the measurement question: how public managers can measure the achievements of their agencies in ways that help to increase those achievements? After a decade the emergence of multitude of books and articles in scientific journals, changes in public sector organizations caused by implementation of models of performance measurement, performance management and quality management, governmental initiatives to implement performance measurement programmes just confirm the Behn insight on the importance of performance measurement in public organizations. For many years performance measurement as one of the major tools in the package of the New Public Management reforms has remained a significant 'management fashion' (Abrahamson, 1996) and scholars as well as practicians of traditionally more developed countries of the English speaking world and the Continental Western Europe are well aware of it. The fashion gradually comes to the post-communist Central European countries which recently joined the European Union or are in the way of doing so and which learn from the experience of more 'advanced" countries in different areas of public administration. Lithuanian public sector organizations, including municipalities, also take part in the experience transferring process and, although up to now performance measurement practices are poorly institutionalised or do not exist at all, it is likely that in the nearest future significant changes will take place in this area. Therefore, there is a great need for scientific research on public sector performance measurement of applicable nature that could provide guidelines for development of performance measurement systems, evaluate developmental opportunities and threats, and suggest prospective models. Research problem –performance measurement practices in public sector organizations and municipalities are not sufficiently analysed in the Central and Eastern European scientific literature on public administration though this topic is broadly examined by scholars of the Western countries (especially Anglo-Saxon). The topic of public sector performance measurement in Lithuania up to now has not been analysed in scientific dissertations. Goal of the dissertation is to examine the state and developmental perspectives of performance measurement in Lithuanian municipalities by applying results of scientific researches on performance measurement that were carried out in the municipalities of other countries. Tasks of the dissertation: 1. To carry out a historical overview of performance measurement practices in the municipalities of different countries and the analysis of scientific researches on the topic; 2. To develop performance measurement models that could become practically applied tools in improving performance measurement systems in Lithuanian municipalities; 3. To analyse the organisation of performance measurement systems in Lithuanian municipalities and the conditions to improve them; 4. To examine the dependence of performance measurement practices on different political, social, structural and cultural factors. Novelty of the dissertation is conditioned by its goal and tasks because municipal performance measurement practices is a new phenomenon almost never researched before in Lithuania. The researches of this dissertation are based on the methodology of action research which may appear non-traditional and innovative to the Lithuanian academic community dominated by positivistic tradition. The Local Governance Balanced Scorecard and the Municipal Performance Measurement Model developed in this dissertation are innovative models designed on the basis of the Balanced Scorecard, formulated by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 (1996, 2004), and the Common Assessment Framework which has been broadly implemented in public sector organizations as the means for evaluating quality management systems since 2000. The dissertation suggests an advanced concept of strategic management and performance measurement in the context of local governance, according to which all stakeholders should take part in processes of strategic management and performance measurement, and strategic development plans should include all goals and tasks, implementation of which needs initiative from stakeholders. Such approach to strategic management and performance measurement proceeds from the modern understanding of governance as a phenomenon opposed to government which has entrenched itself in the academic community of public administration in the last decade. The Local Governance Balanced Scorecard could be a tool to realize this approach. The Municipal Performance Measurement Model gives an opportunity to evaluate performance measurement practices that exist in municipalities. Self-evaluation of management systems according to the Municipal Performance Measurement Model can be the first step in realizing changes related to implementation of performance measurement systems in municipalities. Practical implications of the dissertation. Performance measurement systems are not developed in Lithuanian municipalities, managers and employees of municipalities lacks knowledge and skills to successfully organize performance measurement systems. Municipalities do not or almost do not apply strategic management and quality management models. Therefore, the material on performance measurement models and the experience of municipalities of different countries collected and summarised in this dissertation and the developed models of performance measurement may empower Lithuanian members of municipal councils, mayors, heads of municipality administration and employees to implement needed changes and provide with the necessary knowledge. Sources and methods of the dissertation. The dissertation is grounded on the action research methodology which is based on the pragmatic theory of knowledge. It is being argued that the pragmatic theory of knowledge following the epistemological approach, developed in the works of W.James (1995), J.Dewey (1981), J.Habermas (2004), R.Rorty (1979, 1982), differs from positivistic and interpretative theories of knowledge because under this epistemological paradigm the goals of scientific research and transformation of social reality are closely interrelated. After evaluating the action research approaches of K.Lewin, Ch.Argyris (Argyris ir kt., 1985), P.Checkland (Checkland, 1999; Checkland, Poulter, 2006) (Reason, Bradbury, 2001), a modified concept of action research, providing justification to the tasks of the dissertation and methods of their implementation, is formulated. It is argued that scientific research is the process of learning under which assumptions about social phenomena, their changes and the effectiveness of the methods of acquiring knowledge about social phenomena as well as the influence to the changes of social phenomena are formulated and tested, assumptions that are not approved by empirical facts are rejected, more accurate assumptions are postulated, etc. In other words, in the process of scientific research one learns by 'trial and error", by raising ideas and implementing them, making mistakes and avoiding their recurrence. Knowledge acquisition process in social sciences is also equated to the process of innovation creation and management, because namely discoveries and novelties - new theories, models and methods – that directly or indirectly cause positive changes in human lives, have great value in scientific cognition. Therefore, by developing this concept of scientific cognition it is possible to refer to the insights provided by the discipline of innovation management. In aiming to implement the tasks of the dissertation those research and data collection methods are used: modelling, expert survey, content analysis, e-mail survey. OVERVIEW OF THE DISSERTATION STRUCTURE The constituent parts of the dissertation are the following: introduction, theoretical and research parts, and conclusions. The first part 'The Theoretical Analysis of Performance Measurement in Municipalities' analyses the process of performance measurement and its opportunities in improving local government, evaluates the international experience in municipal performance measurement and examines the results of scientific researches on performance measurement. This part consists of four chapters. The first chapter 'The Concept and Context of Performance Measurement in Municipalities' formulates the descriptions of the major concepts and discusses the problems of term usage, analyses the peculiarities of performance measurement in municipalities, evaluates factors and motives that determine performance measurement practices in municipalities, overviews performance measurement practices and researches in Lithuania. In the section 1.1 it is stated that the meaning of the concepts 'performance measurement', 'productivity measurement', 'performance evaluation', 'performance observation' is similar and the definition of the chosen concept 'performance measurement' is presented. Other concepts fundamental for this work and terms denoting them are discussed. Aiming to simplify the understanding of the terms used in the dissertation the glossary of major terms indicating English terms and their equivalents in Lithuanian is made. The section 1.2 raises a question, how performance measurement practices in municipalities are similar and specific as compared to other public and private sector organisations. An assumption that the differences of performance measurement practices in different organisations are conditioned by organizational si

General characteristics and relevance of the topic. In 1995's issue of the scientific journal Public Administration Review Robert D. Behn (1995) referring to the analogy of the science of physics formulated three major questions which, in his opinion, scholars of public management should be concerned about in the 21st century. One of them was the measurement question: how public managers can measure the achievements of their agencies in ways that help to increase those achievements? After a decade the emergence of multitude of books and articles in scientific journals, changes in public sector organizations caused by implementation of models of performance measurement, performance management and quality management, governmental initiatives to implement performance measurement programmes just confirm the Behn insight on the importance of performance measurement in public organizations. For many years performance measurement as one of the major tools in the package of the New Public Management reforms has remained a significant 'management fashion' (Abrahamson, 1996) and scholars as well as practicians of traditionally more developed countries of the English speaking world and the Continental Western Europe are well aware of it. The fashion gradually comes to the post-communist Central European countries which recently joined the European Union or are in the way of doing so and which learn from the experience of more 'advanced" countries in different areas of public administration. Lithuanian public sector organizations, including municipalities, also take part in the experience transferring process and, although up to now performance measurement practices are poorly institutionalised or do not exist at all, it is likely that in the nearest future significant changes will take place in this area. Therefore, there is a great need for scientific research on public sector performance measurement of applicable nature that could provide guidelines for development of performance measurement systems, evaluate developmental opportunities and threats, and suggest prospective models. Research problem –performance measurement practices in public sector organizations and municipalities are not sufficiently analysed in the Central and Eastern European scientific literature on public administration though this topic is broadly examined by scholars of the Western countries (especially Anglo-Saxon). The topic of public sector performance measurement in Lithuania up to now has not been analysed in scientific dissertations. Goal of the dissertation is to examine the state and developmental perspectives of performance measurement in Lithuanian municipalities by applying results of scientific researches on performance measurement that were carried out in the municipalities of other countries. Tasks of the dissertation: 1. To carry out a historical overview of performance measurement practices in the municipalities of different countries and the analysis of scientific researches on the topic; 2. To develop performance measurement models that could become practically applied tools in improving performance measurement systems in Lithuanian municipalities; 3. To analyse the organisation of performance measurement systems in Lithuanian municipalities and the conditions to improve them; 4. To examine the dependence of performance measurement practices on different political, social, structural and cultural factors. Novelty of the dissertation is conditioned by its goal and tasks because municipal performance measurement practices is a new phenomenon almost never researched before in Lithuania. The researches of this dissertation are based on the methodology of action research which may appear non-traditional and innovative to the Lithuanian academic community dominated by positivistic tradition. The Local Governance Balanced Scorecard and the Municipal Performance Measurement Model developed in this dissertation are innovative models designed on the basis of the Balanced Scorecard, formulated by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 (1996, 2004), and the Common Assessment Framework which has been broadly implemented in public sector organizations as the means for evaluating quality management systems since 2000. The dissertation suggests an advanced concept of strategic management and performance measurement in the context of local governance, according to which all stakeholders should take part in processes of strategic management and performance measurement, and strategic development plans should include all goals and tasks, implementation of which needs initiative from stakeholders. Such approach to strategic management and performance measurement proceeds from the modern understanding of governance as a phenomenon opposed to government which has entrenched itself in the academic community of public administration in the last decade. The Local Governance Balanced Scorecard could be a tool to realize this approach. The Municipal Performance Measurement Model gives an opportunity to evaluate performance measurement practices that exist in municipalities. Self-evaluation of management systems according to the Municipal Performance Measurement Model can be the first step in realizing changes related to implementation of performance measurement systems in municipalities. Practical implications of the dissertation. Performance measurement systems are not developed in Lithuanian municipalities, managers and employees of municipalities lacks knowledge and skills to successfully organize performance measurement systems. Municipalities do not or almost do not apply strategic management and quality management models. Therefore, the material on performance measurement models and the experience of municipalities of different countries collected and summarised in this dissertation and the developed models of performance measurement may empower Lithuanian members of municipal councils, mayors, heads of municipality administration and employees to implement needed changes and provide with the necessary knowledge. Sources and methods of the dissertation. The dissertation is grounded on the action research methodology which is based on the pragmatic theory of knowledge. It is being argued that the pragmatic theory of knowledge following the epistemological approach, developed in the works of W.James (1995), J.Dewey (1981), J.Habermas (2004), R.Rorty (1979, 1982), differs from positivistic and interpretative theories of knowledge because under this epistemological paradigm the goals of scientific research and transformation of social reality are closely interrelated. After evaluating the action research approaches of K.Lewin, Ch.Argyris (Argyris ir kt., 1985), P.Checkland (Checkland, 1999; Checkland, Poulter, 2006) (Reason, Bradbury, 2001), a modified concept of action research, providing justification to the tasks of the dissertation and methods of their implementation, is formulated. It is argued that scientific research is the process of learning under which assumptions about social phenomena, their changes and the effectiveness of the methods of acquiring knowledge about social phenomena as well as the influence to the changes of social phenomena are formulated and tested, assumptions that are not approved by empirical facts are rejected, more accurate assumptions are postulated, etc. In other words, in the process of scientific research one learns by 'trial and error", by raising ideas and implementing them, making mistakes and avoiding their recurrence. Knowledge acquisition process in social sciences is also equated to the process of innovation creation and management, because namely discoveries and novelties - new theories, models and methods – that directly or indirectly cause positive changes in human lives, have great value in scientific cognition. Therefore, by developing this concept of scientific cognition it is possible to refer to the insights provided by the discipline of innovation management. In aiming to implement the tasks of the dissertation those research and data collection methods are used: modelling, expert survey, content analysis, e-mail survey. OVERVIEW OF THE DISSERTATION STRUCTURE The constituent parts of the dissertation are the following: introduction, theoretical and research parts, and conclusions. The first part 'The Theoretical Analysis of Performance Measurement in Municipalities' analyses the process of performance measurement and its opportunities in improving local government, evaluates the international experience in municipal performance measurement and examines the results of scientific researches on performance measurement. This part consists of four chapters. The first chapter 'The Concept and Context of Performance Measurement in Municipalities' formulates the descriptions of the major concepts and discusses the problems of term usage, analyses the peculiarities of performance measurement in municipalities, evaluates factors and motives that determine performance measurement practices in municipalities, overviews performance measurement practices and researches in Lithuania. In the section 1.1 it is stated that the meaning of the concepts 'performance measurement', 'productivity measurement', 'performance evaluation', 'performance observation' is similar and the definition of the chosen concept 'performance measurement' is presented. Other concepts fundamental for this work and terms denoting them are discussed. Aiming to simplify the understanding of the terms used in the dissertation the glossary of major terms indicating English terms and their equivalents in Lithuanian is made. The section 1.2 raises a question, how performance measurement practices in municipalities are similar and specific as compared to other public and private sector organisations. An assumption that the differences of performance measurement practices in different organisations are conditioned by organizational si

Negative statistical data reported by Euro Health Consumer Powerhouse (EHCP) in 2015 and the recommendations of the Council of the European Union to improve the performance results of the Lithuanian health care system encourages the researchers, policy makers and the practitioners to investigate deeper and to search for the causes that impacted the health care performance. The significance of the performance measurement and the methodological aims are analysed in the article. The objective of the article is to identify the main problems of the health care performance in Lithuania and to adduce the main aspects of the methodology used for the health care performance measurement purposes. The survey of the multi profile health care institutions confirmed the statistic results presented by EHCP. The key theoretical aspects of the methodological design and alignment are analysed and presented in the article. Scientists acknowledge that versatile methodology of the performance measurement was not established yet and main performance measurement principles should be followed, considering the uniques and the oneness of the investigated region ensuring that all sectors and levels of the health care system are measured.

Negative statistical data reported by Euro Health Consumer Powerhouse (EHCP) in 2015 and the recommendations of the Council of the European Union to improve the performance results of the Lithuanian health care system encourages the researchers, policy makers and the practitioners to investigate deeper and to search for the causes that impacted the health care performance. The significance of the performance measurement and the methodological aims are analysed in the article. The objective of the article is to identify the main problems of the health care performance in Lithuania and to adduce the main aspects of the methodology used for the health care performance measurement purposes. The survey of the multi profile health care institutions confirmed the statistic results presented by EHCP. The key theoretical aspects of the methodological design and alignment are analysed and presented in the article. Scientists acknowledge that versatile methodology of the performance measurement was not established yet and main performance measurement principles should be followed, considering the uniques and the oneness of the investigated region ensuring that all sectors and levels of the health care system are measured.

Negative statistical data reported by Euro Health Consumer Powerhouse (EHCP) in 2015 and the recommendations of the Council of the European Union to improve the performance results of the Lithuanian health care system encourages the researchers, policy makers and the practitioners to investigate deeper and to search for the causes that impacted the health care performance. The significance of the performance measurement and the methodological aims are analysed in the article. The objective of the article is to identify the main problems of the health care performance in Lithuania and to adduce the main aspects of the methodology used for the health care performance measurement purposes. The survey of the multi profile health care institutions confirmed the statistic results presented by EHCP. The key theoretical aspects of the methodological design and alignment are analysed and presented in the article. Scientists acknowledge that versatile methodology of the performance measurement was not established yet and main performance measurement principles should be followed, considering the uniques and the oneness of the investigated region ensuring that all sectors and levels of the health care system are measured.

Negative statistical data reported by Euro Health Consumer Powerhouse (EHCP) in 2015 and the recommendations of the Council of the European Union to improve the performance results of the Lithuanian health care system encourages the researchers, policy makers and the practitioners to investigate deeper and to search for the causes that impacted the health care performance. The significance of the performance measurement and the methodological aims are analysed in the article. The objective of the article is to identify the main problems of the health care performance in Lithuania and to adduce the main aspects of the methodology used for the health care performance measurement purposes. The survey of the multi profile health care institutions confirmed the statistic results presented by EHCP. The key theoretical aspects of the methodological design and alignment are analysed and presented in the article. Scientists acknowledge that versatile methodology of the performance measurement was not established yet and main performance measurement principles should be followed, considering the uniques and the oneness of the investigated region ensuring that all sectors and levels of the health care system are measured.

The author of master's thesis analyzes the conceptions of public trust in the institutions, their types and factors influencing trust in the institutions. The analysis of scientific literature allowed to reveal the importance of citizens' trust (and satisfaction) in the institutions and their services in the country's political life. Various studies in Lithuania and around the world are being carried out to analyze public trust and satisfaction in the services provided by state institutions. However, there is lack of attempts to determine the reliability of already performed studies, and to compare the results of those performed studies in order to understand the variability of public trust measured by different instruments. The problematic issue is raised in this master's thesis: are the measures of public trust used in previous studies in Lithuania reliable and accurate? In order to answer this question a comparison between the available datasets with data on public trust in authorities was made - and it was shown to what degree why the results of public surveys differ. The object of the master's thesis is the limitations and uncertainties of inherent in the measurement of public trust in institutions. The aim of the study is to investigate the reliability of indicators of public trust in the institutions. In order to achieve the main aim the following tasks were formulated: to analyse the concept of public trust in the authorities, its types and the practical relevance and methods of its measurement; to analyse the phenomenon of trust with reference to public administration paradigms; to formulate the methodology of empirical research on measurement of public trust; empirically explore the data collected by survey organizations, demonstrate and explain variability in the levels of public trust in terms of statistical error and methodologies employed. The final master thesis consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, the analysis of scientific literature was carried out in order to overview the variety of public trust concepts, its types and identify the factors influencing public trust in the authorities. It also provides an overview of how trust in government has been changing throughout different public administration paradigms. The second chapter of the master thesis is devoted to the presentation and discussion of methodological aspects of the research. The third chapter analyzes the data of the European social survey, the Eurobarometer, the Lithuanian data archive for social sciences and humanities and publicly available reports of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania "Confidence in State and Municipal institutions and Institutions and Service quality evaluation" in order to carry out a comparative analysis of the results and to question whether the studies performed measured public reliably and accurately. Based on the findings of the research, it can be argued that public trust is mainly influenced by the country's economic situation, government policy, also influenced by the population's interest in politics, its age, education. The analysis of the secondary data showed that the results of the studies concerning the measurement of society confidence and satisfaction in institutions, should be evaluated taking into account the possible mistakes due to the different sampling methods and sample sizes used in the surveys, the different questionnaires and the response measurement scales, specific companies conducting public surveys and other causes of systemic errors.

The author of master's thesis analyzes the conceptions of public trust in the institutions, their types and factors influencing trust in the institutions. The analysis of scientific literature allowed to reveal the importance of citizens' trust (and satisfaction) in the institutions and their services in the country's political life. Various studies in Lithuania and around the world are being carried out to analyze public trust and satisfaction in the services provided by state institutions. However, there is lack of attempts to determine the reliability of already performed studies, and to compare the results of those performed studies in order to understand the variability of public trust measured by different instruments. The problematic issue is raised in this master's thesis: are the measures of public trust used in previous studies in Lithuania reliable and accurate? In order to answer this question a comparison between the available datasets with data on public trust in authorities was made - and it was shown to what degree why the results of public surveys differ. The object of the master's thesis is the limitations and uncertainties of inherent in the measurement of public trust in institutions. The aim of the study is to investigate the reliability of indicators of public trust in the institutions. In order to achieve the main aim the following tasks were formulated: to analyse the concept of public trust in the authorities, its types and the practical relevance and methods of its measurement; to analyse the phenomenon of trust with reference to public administration paradigms; to formulate the methodology of empirical research on measurement of public trust; empirically explore the data collected by survey organizations, demonstrate and explain variability in the levels of public trust in terms of statistical error and methodologies employed. The final master thesis consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, the analysis of scientific literature was carried out in order to overview the variety of public trust concepts, its types and identify the factors influencing public trust in the authorities. It also provides an overview of how trust in government has been changing throughout different public administration paradigms. The second chapter of the master thesis is devoted to the presentation and discussion of methodological aspects of the research. The third chapter analyzes the data of the European social survey, the Eurobarometer, the Lithuanian data archive for social sciences and humanities and publicly available reports of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania "Confidence in State and Municipal institutions and Institutions and Service quality evaluation" in order to carry out a comparative analysis of the results and to question whether the studies performed measured public reliably and accurately. Based on the findings of the research, it can be argued that public trust is mainly influenced by the country's economic situation, government policy, also influenced by the population's interest in politics, its age, education. The analysis of the secondary data showed that the results of the studies concerning the measurement of society confidence and satisfaction in institutions, should be evaluated taking into account the possible mistakes due to the different sampling methods and sample sizes used in the surveys, the different questionnaires and the response measurement scales, specific companies conducting public surveys and other causes of systemic errors.

The author of master's thesis analyzes the conceptions of public trust in the institutions, their types and factors influencing trust in the institutions. The analysis of scientific literature allowed to reveal the importance of citizens' trust (and satisfaction) in the institutions and their services in the country's political life. Various studies in Lithuania and around the world are being carried out to analyze public trust and satisfaction in the services provided by state institutions. However, there is lack of attempts to determine the reliability of already performed studies, and to compare the results of those performed studies in order to understand the variability of public trust measured by different instruments. The problematic issue is raised in this master's thesis: are the measures of public trust used in previous studies in Lithuania reliable and accurate? In order to answer this question a comparison between the available datasets with data on public trust in authorities was made - and it was shown to what degree why the results of public surveys differ. The object of the master's thesis is the limitations and uncertainties of inherent in the measurement of public trust in institutions. The aim of the study is to investigate the reliability of indicators of public trust in the institutions. In order to achieve the main aim the following tasks were formulated: to analyse the concept of public trust in the authorities, its types and the practical relevance and methods of its measurement; to analyse the phenomenon of trust with reference to public administration paradigms; to formulate the methodology of empirical research on measurement of public trust; empirically explore the data collected by survey organizations, demonstrate and explain variability in the levels of public trust in terms of statistical error and methodologies employed. The final master thesis consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, the analysis of scientific literature was carried out in order to overview the variety of public trust concepts, its types and identify the factors influencing public trust in the authorities. It also provides an overview of how trust in government has been changing throughout different public administration paradigms. The second chapter of the master thesis is devoted to the presentation and discussion of methodological aspects of the research. The third chapter analyzes the data of the European social survey, the Eurobarometer, the Lithuanian data archive for social sciences and humanities and publicly available reports of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania "Confidence in State and Municipal institutions and Institutions and Service quality evaluation" in order to carry out a comparative analysis of the results and to question whether the studies performed measured public reliably and accurately. Based on the findings of the research, it can be argued that public trust is mainly influenced by the country's economic situation, government policy, also influenced by the population's interest in politics, its age, education. The analysis of the secondary data showed that the results of the studies concerning the measurement of society confidence and satisfaction in institutions, should be evaluated taking into account the possible mistakes due to the different sampling methods and sample sizes used in the surveys, the different questionnaires and the response measurement scales, specific companies conducting public surveys and other causes of systemic errors.

The author of master's thesis analyzes the conceptions of public trust in the institutions, their types and factors influencing trust in the institutions. The analysis of scientific literature allowed to reveal the importance of citizens' trust (and satisfaction) in the institutions and their services in the country's political life. Various studies in Lithuania and around the world are being carried out to analyze public trust and satisfaction in the services provided by state institutions. However, there is lack of attempts to determine the reliability of already performed studies, and to compare the results of those performed studies in order to understand the variability of public trust measured by different instruments. The problematic issue is raised in this master's thesis: are the measures of public trust used in previous studies in Lithuania reliable and accurate? In order to answer this question a comparison between the available datasets with data on public trust in authorities was made - and it was shown to what degree why the results of public surveys differ. The object of the master's thesis is the limitations and uncertainties of inherent in the measurement of public trust in institutions. The aim of the study is to investigate the reliability of indicators of public trust in the institutions. In order to achieve the main aim the following tasks were formulated: to analyse the concept of public trust in the authorities, its types and the practical relevance and methods of its measurement; to analyse the phenomenon of trust with reference to public administration paradigms; to formulate the methodology of empirical research on measurement of public trust; empirically explore the data collected by survey organizations, demonstrate and explain variability in the levels of public trust in terms of statistical error and methodologies employed. The final master thesis consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, the analysis of scientific literature was carried out in order to overview the variety of public trust concepts, its types and identify the factors influencing public trust in the authorities. It also provides an overview of how trust in government has been changing throughout different public administration paradigms. The second chapter of the master thesis is devoted to the presentation and discussion of methodological aspects of the research. The third chapter analyzes the data of the European social survey, the Eurobarometer, the Lithuanian data archive for social sciences and humanities and publicly available reports of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania "Confidence in State and Municipal institutions and Institutions and Service quality evaluation" in order to carry out a comparative analysis of the results and to question whether the studies performed measured public reliably and accurately. Based on the findings of the research, it can be argued that public trust is mainly influenced by the country's economic situation, government policy, also influenced by the population's interest in politics, its age, education. The analysis of the secondary data showed that the results of the studies concerning the measurement of society confidence and satisfaction in institutions, should be evaluated taking into account the possible mistakes due to the different sampling methods and sample sizes used in the surveys, the different questionnaires and the response measurement scales, specific companies conducting public surveys and other causes of systemic errors.

The aim is to evaluate the economic value of volunteering for GDP in Lithuania in 2010. Researches on the volunteering are very limited in Lithuania. The economic value of volunteer work was not analysed at all. Political interest in this area was shown in 2011 being the International Y ear of volunteers. The main aim of this article is to measure the economic value of volunteer work in Lithuania. The authors used a cost replacement approach and the Manual on the measurement of volunteer work presented by the International Labour Organization. The first point of research was to analyse all the data necessary for the measurement. Lithuanian national account system (Statistics Lithuania) does not include the data on volunteer work, but only the data on labour force. It is evident that the recommendation given by the International Labour Organization to collect the data on volunteer work as additional to the labour force platform could be the cheapest way. But the political decision is still open to discussion. Despite the limited national official data the authors took the data from the Public Opinion Analysis sector of the European Commission. The value of GDP and value of average wage were taken from Statistics Lithuania. The number of volunteers has been taken from Standard Eurobarometer (73). The number of hours volunteered through organizations comes from Second European Quality of Life Survey Participation volunteering and unpaid work. The main disadvantage of this study is the measurement that is based on average wage only, excluding the data in different sectors. Lack of data causes this limitation. Application of cost replacement approach shows that 339569 volunteers worked 1 213 9585 full working days, which makes 47794 full time equivalents, and financial replacement value correspond to 1 406 249 480 litas (40728000 EURO), or 1,5 % of GDP into 2010. [.].

The aim is to evaluate the economic value of volunteering for GDP in Lithuania in 2010. Researches on the volunteering are very limited in Lithuania. The economic value of volunteer work was not analysed at all. Political interest in this area was shown in 2011 being the International Y ear of volunteers. The main aim of this article is to measure the economic value of volunteer work in Lithuania. The authors used a cost replacement approach and the Manual on the measurement of volunteer work presented by the International Labour Organization. The first point of research was to analyse all the data necessary for the measurement. Lithuanian national account system (Statistics Lithuania) does not include the data on volunteer work, but only the data on labour force. It is evident that the recommendation given by the International Labour Organization to collect the data on volunteer work as additional to the labour force platform could be the cheapest way. But the political decision is still open to discussion. Despite the limited national official data the authors took the data from the Public Opinion Analysis sector of the European Commission. The value of GDP and value of average wage were taken from Statistics Lithuania. The number of volunteers has been taken from Standard Eurobarometer (73). The number of hours volunteered through organizations comes from Second European Quality of Life Survey Participation volunteering and unpaid work. The main disadvantage of this study is the measurement that is based on average wage only, excluding the data in different sectors. Lack of data causes this limitation. Application of cost replacement approach shows that 339569 volunteers worked 1 213 9585 full working days, which makes 47794 full time equivalents, and financial replacement value correspond to 1 406 249 480 litas (40728000 EURO), or 1,5 % of GDP into 2010. [.].

The aim is to evaluate the economic value of volunteering for GDP in Lithuania in 2010. Researches on the volunteering are very limited in Lithuania. The economic value of volunteer work was not analysed at all. Political interest in this area was shown in 2011 being the International Y ear of volunteers. The main aim of this article is to measure the economic value of volunteer work in Lithuania. The authors used a cost replacement approach and the Manual on the measurement of volunteer work presented by the International Labour Organization. The first point of research was to analyse all the data necessary for the measurement. Lithuanian national account system (Statistics Lithuania) does not include the data on volunteer work, but only the data on labour force. It is evident that the recommendation given by the International Labour Organization to collect the data on volunteer work as additional to the labour force platform could be the cheapest way. But the political decision is still open to discussion. Despite the limited national official data the authors took the data from the Public Opinion Analysis sector of the European Commission. The value of GDP and value of average wage were taken from Statistics Lithuania. The number of volunteers has been taken from Standard Eurobarometer (73). The number of hours volunteered through organizations comes from Second European Quality of Life Survey Participation volunteering and unpaid work. The main disadvantage of this study is the measurement that is based on average wage only, excluding the data in different sectors. Lack of data causes this limitation. Application of cost replacement approach shows that 339569 volunteers worked 1 213 9585 full working days, which makes 47794 full time equivalents, and financial replacement value correspond to 1 406 249 480 litas (40728000 EURO), or 1,5 % of GDP into 2010. [.].

Object of the research: Research of underground communications and conclusion of control of geodetic photos at selected sites in Siauliai city and district. Aim of the research: analyze and evaluate the differences: time-consuming, labor and the specifics of the most common errors in geodetic research in road building, underground communications directly and residential building construction. Objectives of the research: Identify and analyze the performance of geodetic measurements legislation and other literature geodetic measurements and research issues. Analyze and evaluate the process differences resulting from errors, mostly arising problems and find solutions, in surveying the research on selected objects. Identify and optimize workflow geodetic object. Methods of the research: Experimental investigation was carried out i.e. geodetic survey of three objects during entire construction period, as well as land-use planning and surveying professionals questionnaire. Results of the research:  The first part of an overview of Geodesy and Cartography and the construction of technical regulations, rules, analyzed other construction and surveying the direction of literature.  The second part analyzes geodetic engineering works sequence of different objects, and the complexity of the process, the time of performing the work, as well as labor costs and remuneration of labor relations.  The third paragraph stipulates that the most important is the first geodetic milestone (Topographic Plan and structures marking works), because any mistakes made in these phases can irreversibly influence the design and implementation of the project work.

Object of the research: Research of underground communications and conclusion of control of geodetic photos at selected sites in Siauliai city and district. Aim of the research: analyze and evaluate the differences: time-consuming, labor and the specifics of the most common errors in geodetic research in road building, underground communications directly and residential building construction. Objectives of the research: Identify and analyze the performance of geodetic measurements legislation and other literature geodetic measurements and research issues. Analyze and evaluate the process differences resulting from errors, mostly arising problems and find solutions, in surveying the research on selected objects. Identify and optimize workflow geodetic object. Methods of the research: Experimental investigation was carried out i.e. geodetic survey of three objects during entire construction period, as well as land-use planning and surveying professionals questionnaire. Results of the research:  The first part of an overview of Geodesy and Cartography and the construction of technical regulations, rules, analyzed other construction and surveying the direction of literature.  The second part analyzes geodetic engineering works sequence of different objects, and the complexity of the process, the time of performing the work, as well as labor costs and remuneration of labor relations.  The third paragraph stipulates that the most important is the first geodetic milestone (Topographic Plan and structures marking works), because any mistakes made in these phases can irreversibly influence the design and implementation of the project work.