CABI Abstracts

Inner Mongolia is located in China’s arid and semi-arid regions, with sensitive and fragile ecosystems at risk of increased desertification, necessitating ecological restoration. However, economic resources for large-scale ecological restoration are often scarce, so it is vital to identify key areas for ecological restoration. Previous desertification research has focused mainly on the condition and changes in soil or vegetation. However, not all changes in soil or vegetation directly impact humans. New perspectives are increasingly needed to bridge the gap between biophysical and human well-being. We construct a framework to identify priority restoration areas based on ecosystem services and ecosystem vulnerability over a long time series. The results show that: (1) soil conservation services in northeast and southwest Inner Mongolia have degraded. Sand fixation services in central and eastern Inner Mongolia have shown a degradation trend. Habitat quality has been generally stable and sporadic in the past 20 years. (2) The areas with higher ecosystem vulnerability are concentrated in the northeast, mainly due to higher climate exposure and climate sensitivity but relatively lower climate resilience in the northeast. (3) Compared with the results of ecological restoration areas identified based on the trends of traditional vegetation indicators (fractional vegetation cover and net primary productivity), we found a greater proportion of land in northeastern Inner Mongolia in need of restoration. Additionally, there was identified a decreased restoration proportion in southwestern Inner Mongolia to ensure the self-restoration and regulation of desert ecosystems, which is conducive to realizing nature-based solutions.

This research aims to extend our knowledge about the factors for increasing participation and sustainability of digitally enhanced communities. Thus, the subject of the research is online community projects which act as the catalysts for collective behaviors exhibited through the crowd effect. Typical to online communities and their social orientation is the use of new forms of self-regulation and self-governance. Sustainable online communities can improve public services and lead to broader civic participation. The communities were analyzed in the course of experimental qualitative research that was conducted in Lithuania. Participants in digital urban communities and initiators of such platforms were interviewed face-to-face. Analysis of the empirical data revealed different motivational, socio-cultural, and organizational factors influencing the sustainable online community ecosystem. According to the research results, community organizers and IT developers should focus on online collaborations through technologies that create social value (collective decisio-nmaking tools, gamification, virtual brainstorming, and other technological solutions).

Objectives: The present research has a significant value for the theory of and research in health informatics and clinical practice. The aim of the article was to investigate how important is knowledge richness and linkage as knowledge quality for the information technology system success decomposing existing electronic Prescription systems in the context of comparison regarding the building process. Methods: The four most actively used Lithuanian electronic Prescription modules have been selected for the research. To achieve the purpose, decomposition of electronic Prescription processes have been carried out to assess relations between knowledge richness and richness adopted in the electronic Prescription module and knowledge usability. The method of heuristic assessment and cognitive walkthroughs was used. The heuristic method is used for the evaluation of an information system by a specialist in the field or by qualified members of the information system development team. Results: A completely developed electronic Prescription system functioning in the entire state has been implemented only in several European countries and Finland is one of the best examples. Despite the fact that several information systems have been developed in Lithuania that prescribes electronic Prescription with 40 million Euros spent on information technology systems, still, 15% of all prescriptions are written on paper in Lithuania. Conclusions: A dynamic selection rule could be apply to address the issue of electronic Prescription use. Such analysis can help the healthcare administrators and professionals to evaluate the potential of enabling information technology and the opportunity it created to rethink or reengineer the e.Prescription process and the associated activities based on the enabling information technology capability.

International activities of firms contribute to environmental socio-economic development and have a positive influence on prosperity of countries. The novelty of this study is to extend prevailing theory on the performance measurement of internationalized firms by suggesting a hybrid decision-making model based on interval type 2 fuzzy sets for the Baltic states. The integrated method is defined as the interval type-2 (IT2) decision making trial and evaluation laboratory qualitative flexible multiple criteria method (DEMATEL-QUALIFLEX). IT2 DEMATEL is used for weighting each criterion of internationalized firms and IT2 QUALIFLEX is applied for ranking the Baltic states, respectively. Within this context, six different criteria are defined for ranking the internationalized firms of the Baltic states. The ranking of all three countries enable us to conclude that Estonia demonstrates the best results of internationalized firms. Meanwhile, Latvia has the worst performance of internationalized firms. The findings are useful for decision makers responsible for supportive policies focused on the research and development (R&D) and internationalization of firms. The implications for managers lie in the awareness of necessary conditions for successful internationalization. The study extends prevailing knowledge on the performance measurement of internationalized firms and provides findings on multinational companies (MNCs) in the Baltic states’ context.

An analysis of the scientific literature has revealed that companies in advanced countries have mixed capital structures, whereas companies in less advanced countries mostly depend on bank credits and loans. The reason for dependence on bank funding lies in the fact that corporate bonds are profitable only to large companies with a high credit rating, while small and medium companies—as well as large companies with lower credit ratings—find bank loans to be a more attractive method of external financing. This article focuses on the impact of particular financial and economic determinants on corporate borrowing in Lithuania. With a view to providing not only theoretical, but also practical insight in the problems of corporate financing, we have included such financial determinants as interest rates and bond yields.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to as- sess patients’ opinion of the information tech- nologies (IT) electronic registration systems at the “Centro poliklinika” and Šeškinė outpatient clinics in Vilnius City. Material and Methods: The survey was conducted in May-June, 2012. In the course of the primary survey, one questionnaire was handed out to one in tenth of the newly ar- rived patients. Total number of 650 question- naires was distributed. 563 respondents partici- pated in the survey (feedback rate—86.6%). Sta- tistical analysis of data was performed by means of personal computer using SPSS software package. Results: 54.7% of respondents state that they make use of the possibility of online registration with the family doctor. 85.05% of respondents indicate that a doctor, when making the next appointment or referring to the medical specialist, registers a patient on site by means of computer. Upon arrival of a respondent to the reception desk of the medical establishment, 90.3% of respondents are registered by means of computer. 72.4% of respondents say that they have a choice to telephone and inquire about the time of visit if they have forgotten the visit time or lost the appointment sheet. Majority of re- spondents using the online registration option belong to the age group between 21 and 40 years—35.3%. Conclusions: Answers by the res- pondents and the breakdown between “Centro poliklinika” and Šeškinė outpatient clinics are very similar and no essential differences have been determined.