Termino „sustainable development“ lietuviškų atitikmenų vartosenos socialiniuose moksluose problemos

229Terminology | 2024 | 31 doi.org/10.35321/term31-12 Challenges in Using Lithuanian Equivalents of “Sustainable Development” in Social Sciences | Social Sciences ROMUALDAS GINEVIČIUS Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Faculty of Business Management, Institute of Dynamic Management ORCID id: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2067-4398 INTRODUCTION The topic of sustainable development in the social sciences has been examined extensively and diversely in the last decade – special scientific journals are published, monographs are printed, conferences are held, etc. In the context of sustainability, all levels of systems are analyzed – from the microsystem (companies) to the macrosystem (countries, regions) and the megasystem (people). By their nature, they are all socio-economic systems (SES). These are social systems in which various resources are integrated – material, technical, informational, financial, etc. This special attention is given to the problem of sustainable development because the future of humanity depends largely on its solution. However, despite scientific advice, decisions taken at the highest level, and the efforts of international and global institutions, the situation is currently deteriorating. First of all, this is reflected in the warming of the climate and the resulting increasing frequency of cataclysms of various kinds. The main reasons for this are the disproportionate use of non-renewable natural resources, environmentally polluting technologies, increasing waste volumes, inefficient recycling methods, etc. This is determined by both objective and subjective conditions. The point is the nature of SES functioning. The condition of existence of all of them is continuous development, because they, as open systems, are determined by the environment. Therefore, there is a constant exchange between the SES and the environment: the system acts on the environment by performing certain functions (production, Romualdas Ginevičius 230 Lithuanian equivalents of the term „sustainable vartosenos socialiniuose moksluose problemos development“ (services, health care, education, etc.). In turn, in performing the aforementioned functions, SES receives from the environment the resources necessary for its functioning – materials, equipment, finances, information, etc. Any SES is always a sub-level structure in relation to its surroundings and therefore has to constantly adapt to the requirements of the environment. This is a condition for the survival of the SES. The interaction between the SES and the environment is characterised by the fact that environmental demands are constantly increasing and the SES must therefore also evolve in order to survive. Furthermore, the changes in this expansion must be faster, or at least as fast as the external demands. On the other hand, they must comply with the requirements of sustainable development, i.e. economic, social and ecological development must be in harmony with each other. Such development in English-speaking countries is unequivocally called sustainability or sustainable development. The situation is different with non-English-speaking countries – in one case these English terms are translated as the equivalents sustainability, sustainable development, in another case – sustainability, sustainable development, i.e. the spoken equivalents are used synonymously. After the State Lithuanian Language Commission (hereinafter – VLKK) clarified that the aforementioned terms are inequivalent, a fairly active discussion about them began. The situation was complicated by the fact that species traits acquire sustainable and harmonious meaning only with the expansion and development of related traits (VLKK KB; Žičkienė, Guogis, Gudelis 2019; Baležentis 2019; Stunžinas 2015). The literature shows that in all cases this problem is considered as a linguistic one. However, a pragmatic approach is also important, both scientifically and practically, as it relates to the targeted management of the SES. A pragmatic approach is possible if it is possible to quantify possible combinations of related terms (sustainability, cohesion and development). The aim of the article is to position and conceptualize the characteristics of development and/or development of SES and the related composite terms development sustainability, development coherence, development sustainability and development coherence. REVIEW OF LITTERACY In response to the deteriorating situation on Earth, the idea of sustainable development was raised in 1987. The term sustainable development was canonized by Gru Harlem Brutland in his presentation "Our Common Future" at the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Instead of economic growth, a different approach was formulated – balanced economic, social and ecological growth was called sustainable development (Burton 1987; Freyman 2012). 231Terminology | 2024 | 31 From literature sources it is clear that in non-English-speaking countries, including Lithuania, the English term sustainability is translated in various ways – tvaam rumas, darnumas, tvara, darna, tausumas, and with specific elements these words form composite terms, e.g.: sustainability of energy production, mies to harmony, social harmony, biological sustainability (Stunžinas 2015). Thus, the essential characteristics, on the basis of which it would be possible to unequivocally distinguish the terms sustainability, ną, be to, visuose literatūros šaltiniuose nurodoma, kad jų reikšmė yra sustainability and harmony, harmony are used differently (Žičkienė, Guogis, Gudelis 2019; Stunžinas 2015; VLKK KB; DLKŽe), remain unspecified. The term sustainability is methodologically related to the term sustainable development, whose Lithuanian equivalents are darnus vystymasis, tvarus vystymasis (Stunžinas 2015). In addition, it is indicated that the terms harmonious development and sustainable development may also exist (Žičkienė, Guogis, Gudelis 2019) (see Figure 1). Figure 1. The literature indicates that the Lithuanian equivalents of the English term sustainability – tvarumas, tvara and darnumas, harna – are not equal, but they are often used when talking about the same things. For example, the terms sustainability and sustainable are used to refer to various areas of state activity and their phenomena, coherence and harmony – to environmental policy, economy, energy, general policy issues, social policy, tourism, transport, agriculture, fisheries, cities, etc. (Stunžinas 2015). It is assumed that these terms are derivatives of the same category of verbs, having the same root and differing in verb formants (Vasų kelienė, Kučinskienė 2012; Pikčilingis 1969; Stunžinas 2015). The usage of these terms can be positioned based on the fact that they Romualdas Ginevičius 232 The Lithuanian equivalents of the term „sustainable vartosenos socialiniuose moksluose problemos development“. Sustainability means "longevity, permanence" (sustain 1. ‘strong, durable’, 2. ‘constant, unchangeable’, 3. ‘immune, enduring, resistant’, 4. „long-lasting, non-transient“ (LKŽe), darnuų mas, darna – „balance, harmony“ (harmonious „which is harmonized, coordinated“ DLKŽe), tausumas (tausus „saving, saving, not spending“ LKŽe). This is how sustainability and harmony are understood by other authors (Baležentis 2019; Žičkienė, Guogis, Gudelis 2019; Stunžinas 2015). However, despite the difference in the meaning of the colloquial terms, they are still used as equivalents of the English term sustainable development (VLKK KB; Stunžinas 2015). In some cases, this term is translated as sustainability (Kabulova 2023; Sviderskė 2014; Volkov 2018), in other cases – harmony (Činčikaitė 2013; Gedvilaitė 2019; Oželienė 2019; Starynina 2020). Figure 1 shows that development is also understood in two ways in Lithuanian. It is translated as expansion and development. The sources of literature emphasize that these concepts are unequal. The preamble to the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe emphasises harmonious and sustainable development. The term development is more appropriate when it refers to quantitative changes, and development when it refers to qualitative changes (the latter is the equivalent of the international word evolution) (VLKK KB). According to Skaidrė Žičkienė, Arvydas Guogis and Dangis Gudelis, the term development should be translated only as development and cannot be translated as development, because the latter means “growth”, which is fundamentally contrary to the concept of sustainable development, which is based not on quantitative but qualitative changes (Žičkienė, Guogis, Gudelis 2019). This assertion is based on the fact that quantitative parameters, from the point of view of development theories, are characterized by high social and environmental risks. As an example, the experience of the newly industrialized countries of South Asia is given, whose social and environmental development has been unconditionally “sacrificed” to the goals of economic development. In fact, the causes of this situation are deeper and, one could say, temporary. Failure (or inability) to comply with the principles of sustainable development is typical of developing countries. However, the higher their level of economic development, the more attention is paid to social and environmental development. The experience of the European Union's developed countries is proof of this. By linking the Lithuanian equivalents of the term sustainability sustainability and harmony with the Lithuanian equivalents of the term sustainable development development and development, it is possible to create a SES development terms matrix (see Figure 2). 233Terminology | 2024 | 31 The ultimate goal of the development of the SES is sustainable development, i.e. continuous qualitative change. On the other hand, they are the result of its quantitative changes. It is not for nothing that it is said that without quantity it is difficult to achieve quality. Based on this, Figure 3 illustrates the relationship between SES expansion and development. Figure 2. SES development English terms Figure 3. SES development round Figure 3 shows that the SES development change situations (sustainability and coherence of development, sustainability and coherence of development) are the result of development. Basically, these are its quantitative or qualitative characteristics. Their conceptualization provides the possibility of quantifying the state. METODOLOGICAL BASIS OF QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF CHANGE IN SES vartosenos socialiniuose moksluose problemos DEVELOPMENT From the literature sources presented in the article it is clear that the term sustainable development is considered as a linguistic problem. There are no studies that analyze it systematically, i.e. evaluate the possible links and interdependencies of SES development. However, both scientific and practical significance has a pragmatic approach. All real SESs, from the enterprise to the state or its association, aim to constantly improve the efficiency of their functioning. This is directly related to their targeted development, which is possible if there is an opportunity to quantify the current state (Ginevičius 2009). Figure 3 shows that the ultimate objective of the SES is sustainable development, which depends on sustainability and coherence of development. In turn, the cohesion of development depends on its sustainability. Neither the UNCCD nor other sources indicate what the use of the terms sustainable development and coherent development depends on. A general, i.e. context-dependent, recommendation is given (VLKK KB; Stunžinas 2015). The term sustainable development is used to refer to various areas of state activity and their phenomena: politics (political communities, strategies), economy (finance, market, procurement, lending, companies), social policy (pension system), energy (energy supply, fuel), environmental policy, ecology (rural areas, fish stocks), transport (aviation), agriculture, fisheries (navy), tourism, manufacturing, construction, cities. The term sustainable development is used in texts on environmental policy, economics, energy, general issues, social policy, tourism, transport, agriculture, fisheries, cities (Stunžinas 2015; VLKK KB). These examples do not provide much clarity as to the use of the terms sustainable development and coherent development. In order to clarify the usage, it is necessary to look into the existing methods of assessing sustainability and compatibility. The inclusion of an increasing number of indicators in their framework increases the adequacy of the assessment of the state of SES development, rather than the coherence of SES development. This condition is the basis for assessing the sustainability of the development of the SES, not the sustainability itself. Currently, the majority of studies are focused on modelių – 70 visuotinų, per 100 – nacionalinių, daugiau kaip 70 – regioassessing the state of the SES sustainability development components. This is evidenced by the fact that there are more than 500 sustainable development indicators in the world and about 300 local ones (Kates et al. 2001; Parris, Kates 2003; Čiegis, Ramanauskienė, Šimanskienė 2010), which assess the components of sustainable development of SES – environment, state of socio-economic development (Lancker, Nijkamp 2000; Prescott Allen 1995; Nordhaus, Tobin 1973; Morris 1979; Berke, Manta 1999; Zolotas 1981; Wackernagel, Rees 1997). Fewer tests, 235Terminology | 2024 | 31 for the general state of development of the SES (coherence). For example, at the same time, the state of socio-economic development of Lithuanian regions was determined, which was named the integrated sustainable development index (Čiegis, Ramanauskienė, Šimanskienė 2010). In evaluating the development of the region of Thailand, three indicators are combined: GDP per capita, CO2 emissions and energy consumption (Chansarn 2013). The coherence of development of developing countries (Peru, Mauritius, Philippines, Bangladesh, Ghana, India, etc.) is also analyzed, which is measured only by GDP (Babu, Datta 2015). Another study used multi-criteria methods to determine the state of development of Italian regions. The evaluation model included 18 indicators: 9 for environmental protection, 9 for socio-economic development (Boggia, Cortina 2010). The development of the Suihua region of China was assessed on the basis of 28 indicators: 10 for economic development, 10 for environmental development and 8 for social development (Jia Zhou et al. 2007). The development assessment of the city of Kermanshah, Iran, is based on 44 indicators: 23 for social progress, 8 for economic growth, 13 for environmental protection (Somayeh Zinatizadeh et al. 2017). All these indicators of the state of SES development are identified in the studies as assessments of development coherence, although it is not analyzed how the development of individual groups of indicators has been harmonized with each other. An essential characteristic of the assessment is longevity (VLKK KB), which can be treated as a quantitative characteristic of the development process. Consequently, the sustainability status can only be assessed at the end of the period under consideration. An essential feature of coherence is the compatibility of the development of SES components (VLKK KB). Thus, it is already a quality result, which shows the structure of the development process, and coherence can be measured at the desired time. This is usually done for the duration of the period under review (at the end of the year). Often, despite the fact that sustainability of development is a condition of cohesion, it is hardly addressed. There are attempts to quantify the dynamics of development (Ginevičius 2019; Gedvilaitė 2019). One of the reasons for this situation is that the term sustainable development is translated into Lithuanian language in the same way as darni plėtra. There is not even an unambiguous translation into English of the terms sustainable development and coherent development. The answer lies in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in 2015. It includes 17 goals, and Goal 8 is: “Promote sustainable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth” (UN. Transforming our World: <…> 2015). Thus, the English equivalent of the word sustained is sustained, and the word sustainable is sustainable. The English term development translates as development and development, which creates considerable confusion. Considering the fact that the development includes Romualdas Ginevičius 236 For the Lithuanian equivalents of the term „sustainable vartosenos socialiniuose moksluose problemos development“ – quantitative and development – qualitative changes, the English equivalent of the term development could be growth, and the term development – development (see figure 4). In order to establish the situation of the quantification of the sustainability of the SES development, an overview of its existing methods is necessary. The eligibility criterion may be an essential indicator of sustainable development – the degree of compatibility of the state of development of the SES components (economic, social and environmental). The literature shows that at present the assessment of development sustainability is carried out in two aspects: the assessment of individual groups of indicators of SES development components or the assessment of SES as a whole. All such proposals, methodologies, indicator systems have the same methodological flaw. All of them are supposed to indicate the sustainability of the development of the SES, although they have nothing to do with sustainability assessment. Research on sustainable development shows that the use of these terms depends on the nature of the phenomenon being assessed. It can be a socio-economic system as a whole or its individual components. In the first case, it is possible to distinguish all three components necessary for the concept of sustainable development – economic, social, environmental and determine the extent to which their development state has been harmonized, i.e. to determine their development coherence. This may not be done if a single component or groups nant galima teigti, kad tikslinga kalbėti apie miesto, įmonės, šalies, jos regioof its indicators are assessed. For example, it would hardly make sense to try to define environmental sustainability in this way. Summarize, which would belong to the SES, development coherence, and about the sustainability of the economic, social, environmental development of the city, company, country, its regions. Similarly, it is not about the coherence of politics, economy, energy, social policy, transport, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, but about the sustainability of their development (provided that their state can be quantified). Figure 4. English terms for sustainability and cohesion of SES development 237Terminology | 2024 | 31 The quantification of the coherence of the SES development is carried out in stages. Firstly, a list of SES socio-economic indicators is drawn up (many of the existing so-called coherence indicator systems are suitable). They are then assigned to the components of sustainable development – economic, social, environmental. Afterwards, a quantitative assessment of component development is carried out (Ginevičius et al. 2022; Gedvilaitė 2019; Volkov 2018; Trishch et al. 2021; Trishch et al. 2023). These estimates are ultimately used to assess the coherence of the SES development (see Figure 5). Figure 3 shows that all characteristics of the SES development link are interrelated: sustainability and cohesion are the result of sustainability and cohesion is the result of sustainability and cohesion. The basic indicator is therefore the sustainability of development. As has been pointed out, it reflects development as a process. Whether the SES has developed sustainably cannot be judged on the basis of the results of one year alone. It is also stated in the WLCC CB that this is a long-term development. As a development characteristic, it refers to the quantitative changes that occurred during the period considered. This period is not discussed in detail in the scientific literature. It could be suggested that this is the shortest period of time from which the development of the phenomenon under consideration is adequately assessed. On this basis, a graphical analytical model can be provided for quantifying the sustainability of SES development (see Figure 6). Figure 6. Graphical analytical model for quantifying the sustainability of SES development Figure 5. Structural framework for quantifying the sustainability of SES development