Thermal wood modification has been intensively studied in the recent decades because of the possibility to produce wood with improved biodurability and dimensional stability without use of harmful chemicals. Beside altered physical characteristics, wood colour is changed to lighter or darker brown as a result of thermal treatment. Growth of interest in thermal wood treatment has stimulated numerous researches concerned with discoloration of thermally modified wood which is subjected to light exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the colour stability of thermally modified hardwood during storage in the dark where wood discolouration is not photoinduced but rather a result of oxidative ageing. Three thermally modified hardwood species – aspen (Populus tremula L.), alder (Alnus incana Moench), birch (Betula pendula Roth.), where investigated. Wood discoloration was monitored by spectrophotometrical measurements of reflectance spectra and chromaticity parameter calculations using CIELAB colour system where L* is the lightness, and a* and b* are the chromatic coordinates. The colour stability of thermally modified wood as well as of untreated wood of the same species was examined by means of assessment of the colour parameter changes (ΔL*, Δa*, Δb*, ΔEab). All wood specimens under study discoloured during the experiment, but the colour change did not exceed two units that are common and accepted for wood products. Untreated and thermally modified wood showed different trends of discoloration during storage in the dark. The final colour changes that were fixed at the end of the experiment were greater for the thermally treated wood.

Heavy metals as well as other pollutants are widespread and create deleterious impact to the environment and human health. There are different in situ and ex situ technologies of immobilization and removal of contaminants; electrokinetic remediation is one of such technologies. It can be applied for treatment of wide areas, e.g., former industrial and military firing-grounds. Technology is applicable to water soluble contaminants at sites with homogeneous soils that are fine-grained and exhibit both, high permeability and high moisture contents. The aim of the study was to test the efficiency of electrokinetic remediation for copper contaminated clayey soil in laboratory conditions. Pilot scale experiments were applied to test the efficiency of electrokinetic removal of contaminants from soil by application of low voltage direct current (DC). Experimental results show that the use of DC power can be selected for treatment of heavy metal contaminated soils. Batch scale experiments were done by using clayey soil with known physico-mechanical properties, spiked with copper solution of known concentrations. Electric force was changed by varying its parameters. The article gives batch experimental results for diffusion of copper ions in soil under the influence of the external electric field.

Cumulative air pollution – synergy between different pollutants and environmental factors is one of the hardest to evaluate factors in the air quality monitoring field. The evaluation of cumulative effects is hindered by a lack of verified analytical frameworks. Currently used methods are relatively simple and use statistical models with small fixed number of pollutants in association with different factors. There is almost no one solution for direct, on-site cumulative effect measurements. The alternative is the use of Cumulative Pollution Index (CPI) method – solution designed for cumulative effect calculation from bioindication and air quality measurement data. However, this method is completely new and has never been used in the air pollution evaluation activities. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the opportunity to use CPI method as a cumulative pollution evaluation tool in air quality monitoring by doing measurements of cumulative effect in several air quality measurement stations in two cities of Latvia – Liepaja and Riga. Results show that Cumulative Pollution Index method is not only usable in air quality monitoring as a tool for cumulative effect evaluation, but can reveal new facts about air pollution and ways how it affects human and ecosystem health, – such climatic and environmental factors as humidity and temperature are more important than interactions between individual pollutants and can be considered main elements in forming of cumulative pollution impact.

Rural areas in Poland are characterized by great diversity in their functional spatial structure. Throughout history, their distinct features have been shaped by natural, historical and socio-economic factors. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in the functional spatial structure of North-Eastern Poland. The analysis involved a comparison of data for 1988 and 2012. Research data was supplied mainly by the Central Statistical Office in Poland. The key drivers of change in the investigated region are agriculture, tourism, forestry and environmentally-friendly industrial processes. The results of the economic and social development are constantly changing in rural areas. Based on analysis, the functional structure of rural areas in North-Eastern Poland between 1988 and 2012 shows that they are more diversified. Over the years, rural areas in North-Eastern Poland were identified with agriculture but now they have multifunctional character.

The research was conducted during the period of 2007-2011 in the fields fertilized by manure of pig breeding complex. According to the fertilization value of manure, the following total nitrogen levels reached the fields each year: 2007 – 169, 2008 – 167, 2009 - 168, 2010 - 168, 2011 – 168 kg haE-1. Ptotal reached the fertilized fields accordingly: 2007 – 9.4, 2008 – 18.9, 2009 – 12.0, 2010 – 10.8, 2011 – 13.5 kg haE-1. The aim of the research was to explore the impact of manure fertilized fields of a pig breeding complex on the water quality of streams. Streams, flowing through fields fertilized with manure, are usually polluted with nitrogen. The increase in Ntotal concentrations in streams’ water below fertilized fields was affected by precipitation (r = -0.31), fertilization rate (r = 0.41) as well as mineral nitrogen reserves in the soil (r = 0.20). Phosphorus concentrations in streams’ water were low and corresponded to a very good streams’ water ecological condition, except in times, when the water inflowing into the fertilized fields was already contaminated with this element. It was determined that an extremely high impact on streams’ water quality below fertilized fields comes from Ptotal concentration in streams’ water above fertilized fields (r = 0.91) as well as from the drainage water inflowing from fertilized fields into the streams (r = 0.71). Neither Ntotal, nor Ptotal pollution was observed in drainage water, because the highest concentrations during the research period were lower than the maximum allowable concentrations by 1.1 and 6.5 times respectively.

Relationship between clients and consultants reveals and develops during the process of communication, because then not only do people interact, but they also get to know each other. Consultants and clients influence each other by sharing information, emotions and feelings. By influencing each other, they change attitudes, feelings and behaviour in the process of consultation. These relations influence the moral state of both consultants and clients, and while interacting, they influence efficiency of consultant activity as well. This paper analyses relationship between consultants and clients, as well as defines both factual and interpersonal aspects of communication.

The aim of the paper is to show the general trend of consumption in the Baltic countries. The member states of the European Union attach great importance to the well-being, health and the promotion of healthy lifestyle. In order to be able to make decisions on the future plan of action, COBEREN (Consumer Behaviour Erasmus Network) carried out a project with an aim of studying the food consumption habits in the European Union countries. The obtained results show the consumer habits of each participating state, although not on the regional level. This study will look at the consumption habits in the Baltic countries and find out the nature of consumption in those three states. The statistical method – analysis of variance – was used to analyse the COBEREN data. The main conclusion is that consumers of the Baltic countries do not differ greatly in their consumption habits.

The paper aims at analyzing the development of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in the field of culture, arts and the protection of cultural and national heritage, and their importance in shaping the cultural functions of rural areas of Poland in the context of their multifunctional development. The research has been conducted in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship. The data have been obtained from the foundations and associations database published by the Stowarzyszenie Klon/Jawor (the Klon/Jawor Association), from the statistical data published by the Central Statistical Office in Poland, and from the webpages of the analyzed organizations. The information on the NGOs as well as on the cultural institutions located in the rural areas of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship has been compared. It turns out that the development of the NGOs in rural areas of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship tends to have constant growth dynamics and that the presence of these organizations significantly increases the accessibility of cultural sector to residents and contributes to economic diversification. NGOs supporting the cultural sector have been developing only since 2000. Therefore, it can be assumed that the existing NGOs network is in its initial stage, but we may expect it will continue to develop. The NGOs are located mainly in urbanized and environmentally valuable areas. Considering the decreasing number of libraries and the types of initiatives undertaken by NGOs in the rural areas of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship we should state that the emerging NGOs can remedy current deficiencies and provide rural residents with access to culture.

This article aims to analyse the main features, importance and benefit of wellbeing research for rural development. Wellbeing research, which is becoming more and more important in social sciences discourse and its interrelations with rural development were analysed using analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, logic and systematic analysis, comparison and graphic modelling methods. The interest in the research significantly grew at the end of the 20th century and it is already recognized as a challenge and/or new instrument evaluating the progress and development of society. It should be noted that this direction of research can be adapted to different territorial levels. Wellbeing research is not only about the worldwide (macro level) wellbeing of nations, but also highlights specific features of smaller units like rural areas and their development (micro level). So when implementing the wellbeing research it is important to choose correctly whether objective or subjective wellbeing can be evaluated based on what positive or negative aspects it gives at the local level. This article deals with the main features of wellbeing research and what is common between this research and rural development as well as what benefit they give to rural communities and development. Research results show that benefit of wellbeing research for rural development is important because it allows to get information about the wellbeing situation of rural people, reveals existing problems and positive changes, gives an opportunity to observe how to improve the evaluation of wellbeing and informs rural actors about their role in the wellbeing research and their possible influence on the rural development.

The municipalities of Latvia are different in terms of business development level. Latvia’s regions are grouped into clusters based on several indicators: number of economically active individual merchants and commercial companies per 1000 capita, territorial development index, and proportion of working-age population. In addition to the business indicators, the following tourism indicators were selected: number of recreational establishments, number of bedplaces, number of individual rooms, number of farms and individual merchants making use of culinary heritage. All these indicators are statistically significant for clustering municipalities. The clustering was performed by employing K-Means clustering and using the data processing programme SPSS. All Latvia’s municipalities were divided into four clusters based on the business development level and the level of exploitation of tourism infrastructure and culinary heritage. The analysis results enable conclusions to be made that a positive correlation exists between the business environment development level, and the level of use of tourism and culinary heritage. Culinary heritage is an important additional possibility for fostering business and economic growth in Latvia’s municipalities. A linear multifactor regression equation was obtained, which associated the revenues of the operating budget of a municipality with the following statistically significant factors: population density, territorial development index, expenditure on economic activity development, number of economically active entrepreneurs and commercial companies, number of tourism establishments, and number of enterprises dealing with culinary heritage. The analysis of regression equation coefficients points to the positive effects of all the factors included in the equation on the revenues of the basic budget of a municipality.