Plant-feeding gall midges are reported from Estonia for the first time. A week-long field trip in August 2025 resulted in records of 45 species as new to the country. Adding reliable records of additional species from citizen science portals resulted in a first preliminary checklist of 70 species, two of which were identified to the genus level only. This is but a first stab at investigating the hitherto unknown gall midge fauna of Estonia.
The essential oil (EO) yield and chemical composition of Thuja occidentalis L. (Cupressaceae) growing in Estonia were investigated to assess intraspecific variability, chemotypic stability, and the consistency of toxic potential associated with thujone content. Fresh leaf material was collected from several geographically distinct populations (n = 12), together with dried leaves and fruits (n = 5), and analysed by hydrodistillation and gas chromatographyâmass spectrometry (GCâMS). Fresh leaf EO yields ranged from 0.73% to 1.32% (mean 1.04%), whereas dried leaves yielded up to 2.98%. In total, 105 volatile constituents were identified. Across all fresh leaf samples, the EO composition was consistently dominated by oxygenated monoterpenes, particularly fenchone (12.08%â29.99%), α-thujone (10.75%â22.74%), and β-thujone (5.13%â17.17%). Their combined proportion ranged from 28% to 70% of the total EO composition (mean 52%). The α-/β-thujone ratio ranged from 0.84 to 2.50. Fresh and dried plant materials did not differ qualitatively in their chemotypic profiles, as both retained the same fenchoneâthujone dominance, although drying increased the essential oil yield quantitatively. Fruit EOs differed quantitatively from leaf oils, exhibiting markedly lower proportions of fenchone and both thujone isomers, together with substantially higher levels of monoÂterpene hydrocarbons, particularly sabinene. No significant geographical trends in total thujone content were observed across growing locations. Given the well-documented neuroÂtoxicity of thujones, the observed chemical uniformity indicates that T. occidentalis in Estonia has geographically independent toxic potential. The absence of thujone-poor chemotypes and the consistently high proportion of thujones suggest a persistent toxicological potential, based on literature data on thujone toxicity. These findings are relevant for risk assessment and the safety evaluation of Thuja-derived materials.
Top managers are leaders and role models for subordinates. Although numerous research papers have been published on ethical leadership, to the best of our knowledge, recent research has largely overlooked the phenomenon of how managers apply ethical principles in their everyday leadership practices. Moreover, we are interested in finding out how top managers see ethical behaviour. Our research relies on Carrollâs moral management theory. The current article focuses on how top managersâ values and habits influence ethical intervention and proactive ethical leadership, and identifies the conditions under which moral managers can act as influential drivers in shaping and strengthening organisational ethical culture. We conducted 12 semi-structured narrative interviews with top managers in Estonia, who described the ethical conflicts they encountered in workplace situations. Based on our study results, we demonstrate the model of moral managers regarding values and habits in the context of unethical behaviour occurring in everyday business life. By clarifying how managerial values shape ethical reasoning and action across diverse ethical situations, stronger support can be provided for leaders in cultivating an ethical climate that reinforces integrity and reduces unethical behaviour.
Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly adopted in occupational health and safety (OHS) to accelerate workplace risk assessment, yet their integration raises a dilemma between efficiency and verification. The study examines this trade-off in an LLM-assisted workflow using data from 111 student assignment files from an educational setting, analyzed at the session level, yielding 96â121 analytic sessions depending on measure availability. Efficiency was measured via perceived time savings versus an estimated manual baseline, while the verification-burden proxy was operationalized as an AIâhuman disagreement in quantitative scoring (probability and impact on 1â5 scales). User acceptance was captured via the utility and satisfaction / intention to reuse Likert scales. The results show substantial perceived efficiency gains: the median LLM-assisted time was 20 minutes versus the median manual time of 120 minutes (median saving 0.84). The verification-burden proxy remained non-trivial: median disagreement was 0.50, and 26.8% of sessions exhibited disagreement â¥1.0. Acceptance remained high (mean satisfaction 4.06/5). Notably, 40.6% of the sessions showed a possible overreliance pattern, with high satisfaction coexisting with high disagreement. In a robust ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, utility was the strongest predictor of satisfaction, while disagreement reduced satisfaction; time saving was not significant. Perceived speed gains may thus coexist with hidden assurance costs and possible trust miscalibration, highlighting the need for verification structures and targeted training for sustainable digital safety governance.
Digitalisation has become a defining feature of post-pandemic work, reshaping work organisation and creating psychosocial risk (PSR) patterns that are not always captured in established assessment frameworks. This qualitative study examines how digitalisation, including remote/hybrid work and the growing role of advanced systems, amplifies traditional PSRs and generates emerging risks, using Estonia as an information-rich case. Twelve semi- structured interviews were conducted with occupational health experts, including occupational psychologists and occupational health physicians, between November and December 2025. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarkeâs thematic analysis. Based on this Estonian expert sample, the analysis identified five interrelated PSR themes in post-pandemic digitalised workplaces: (1) work demands and workload, (2) organisational culture and change management, (3) social relations and isolation, (4) workâlife boundaries and availability, and (5) career insecurity and individual adaptation. Experts highlighted an increased cognitive load and âdouble workâ caused by poorly integrated systems and the need to check digital and AI-generated outputs. They also described uncertainty and limited involvement in change processes, loneliness and misunderstandings in digital communication, constant availability that reduces recovery, ongoing skills pressure, and perceived monitoring. Across themes, digitalisation functioned as a cross-cutting driver spanning widely used Coxâs PSR domains. The findings underline the need to make digitalisation explicit in PSR assessment and management by integrating technology-mediated exposure pathways into routine procedures and controls. This is important for designing effective workplace interventions, supporting employee well-being and resilience, and strengthening sustainable management practices â so that digital transformation contributes not only to efficiency and innovation but also to healthier and more sustainable work environments.
The rapid digitalisation of organisational management has brought artificial intelligence (AI) into core decision-making processes, shaping managerial and human resource functions. Since February 2025, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act has required providers and deployers of AI systems to ensure AI literacy among workers, transforming it from a strategic advantage into a regulatory necessity. Sustainable management in the digital era increasingly depends on leaders who can align technological innovation with organisational values such as environmental sustainability, social responsibility, inclusive growth, well-being, and long-term resilience. This paper presents an exploratory pilot study examining AI literacy among organisational leaders in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a focus on Estonia. Drawing on an original questionnaire and contextualising the pilot findings against results from previous studies (Eurostat, EY, OECD, OSKA), we explore leadersâ understanding of AI concepts, ethical and risk awareness, application in decision-making, and how these dimensions of AI literacy relate to leadership roles, sectoral context, and organisational size. By linking AI literacy with principles of sustainable and ethical management, the paper contributes to the emerging field of AI-enabled leadership studies. It conceptualises AI literacy as a measurable and actionable leadership competency that supports responsible AI governance and aligns with the sustainability goals of the EU AI Act and OECD recommendations. Given the small sample size, the study serves primarily as an instrument validation and feasibility assessment, providing indicative patterns for future scaled research.
Firefighting demands exceptional physical and cognitive capacity in hazardous, unpredictable environments. This comparative study examined firefighter well-being in Estonia and Latvia using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. A mixed-methods approach (2020â2024) included questions from the COPSOQ II questionnaire (N = 400 Estonian firefighters in 2020, N = 408 Estonian firefighters in 2023, and N = 804 Latvian firefighters in 2024) and focus group interviews conducted in Estonia. Rising body mass index (BMI) trends were linked to high job demands, irregular shifts, sleep disruption, physical activity, health behaviours, psychosocial stressors, and constrained recovery. Consistent with the JD-R model, organisational resources (health promotion, supportive supervision, scheduling flexibility) significantly influenced well-being and health behaviours across both countries. Although occupational hazards and risks were comparable, differences in resource allocation and organisational support were decisive for engagement and sustainability. These findings provide an evidence-based framework for fire service leadership to develop targeted health promotion and preventive strategies that enhance firefighter retention and operational effectiveness.
Sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) is an increasingly important means for manufacturing firms to address environmental and social challenges while securing economic returns. Manufacturers exposed to similar sustainability pressures respond to them in strategically different ways. In this study, we examine this variation through the lens of behavioral strategy, focusing on the cognitive foundations of strategic reasoning about SOI. More specifically, we ask what mental representations underlie decision-makersâ reasoning about SOI, how these are updated, and how they are associated with patterns of strategic search. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of interview data from export-oriented wood manufacturing firms in Estonia, we identify three recurring representations of sustainability: inherent and operationally settled, externally prescribed, and evaluatively unsettled. In turn, these representations are translated into judgments about specific alternatives through three evaluative filters: definition, relevance, and feasibility. As new pressures arrive, they typically reinforce the criteria already in use rather than alter the representations themselves, so firmsâ search for new options remains incremental. This study operationalizes insights from behavioral strategy for SOI, locating the source of its incrementalism less in what firms attend to but in the evaluative criteria through which decision-makers judge possible responses.
This study examines how sustainable human resource management (HRM) contributes to managerial well-being in the Estonian public sector, addressing the gap that HRMâwell-being research remains largely employee-centric and provides limited insight into managersâ well- being under high demands. Using a mixed-method design, we combined a 2023 survey of 120 public-sector managers across four sectors (internal security, education, health care, and social services) with 11 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2024â2025. The framework integrates sustainable HRM with the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, psychosocial safety climate (PSC) model, and the dynamics of well-being perspective, capturing both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Results indicate substantial job demands (sustained concentration, time pressure, emotional demands, and overtime-related fatigue), yet relatively low stress symptoms and no gender differences in demand ratings. High demands were bal - anced by resources, corresponding with generally good mental well-being. Interviews showed that stress was pervasive but manageable through deliberate recovery practices and meaning- making tied to societal impact and accomplishment, underscoring the role of eudaimonic well- being, while hedonic restoration was mainly supported through off-job recovery. Overall, the findings suggest that sustainable HRM supports managerial well-being by strengthening job and organizational resources and fostering a psychosocially safer climate that legitimizes participation, support, and recovery, enabling sustainable performance under persistent demands.
This study examines the drivers, stakeholder engagement mechanisms, and challenges influencing the adoption of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies among European Union-based companies. Using semi-structured interviews with 16 firms across diverse sectors, supplemented by sustainability report analysis, the research applies stakeholder theory and institutional theory to explain ESG adoption patterns. Findings reveal that ESG adoption is primarily driven by external forces, including regulatory requirements, market trends, and stakeholder expectations, with internal factors such as corporate values also playing a role. Notably, only one-third of the sampled companies have established formal stakeholder engagement mechanisms, suggesting a potential decoupling between ESG reporting obligations and the substantive integration of stakeholder voice into strategic decision- making. Stakeholder engagement practices vary widely, with formal mechanisms more common in larger, publicly listed organizations. Key challenges include regulatory com plexity, data-collection difficulties, cost pressures, and limited stakeholder awareness. The study contributes to understanding how stakeholder engagement and expectations shape ESG adoption, highlights persistent ESG challenges across industries, and identifies a âmiddle-squeezeâ dynamic whereby medium-sized firms face disproportionate regulatory burden relative to their capacity. Insights offer guidance for policymakers and managers seeking to align sustainability strategies with both institutional requirements and stakeholder demands.
This study examines how sustainability claims of a platform company are constructed, contested, and evaluated through mediated public discourse. Drawing on a qualitative media analysis of Estonian media coverage, reader comments, and corporate sustainability communications related to the Estonian mobility platform company Bolt between 2019 and 2024, the paper adopts a sustainability paradox perspective to analyze tensions between corporate narratives and public legitimacy judgments. The findings reveal three interrelated paradoxes. First, environmental sustainability initiatives framed as contributions to green mobility are frequently interpreted as symbolic or cosmetic, generating accusations of greenwashing. Second, social sustainability claims emphasizing flexibility and opportunity are contradicted by lived experiences of platform workers and users, producing friction between responsibility rhetoric and everyday service realities. Third, governance-related sustainability narratives are undermined by perceived accountability gaps, as platform self-positioning clashes with public expectations of regulation and responsibility. Together, these findings demonstrate that sustainability in platform companies is not assessed solely through performance indicators but is continuously negotiated in public discourse, where media framing and reader-commenters play a constitutive role in shaping legitimacy. The study contributes to sustainability and platform economy research by highlighting mediated legitimacy as a central discursive process through which sustainability paradoxes emerge and persist.
This research article examines the critical challenges and opportunities of people management in the digital era, offering valuable insights from general management and sustainable management perspectives. As organizations increasingly operate in digitally transformed environments, sustainable people management becomes essential to fulfilling the organizationâs evolutionary purpose, reflecting its deeper reason for existence. Therefore, understanding how such strategies are constructed and implemented is very important. The authors aim to construct a typology of people management practices by adopting a case study strategy and drawing on general management insights from face-to-face interviews with top management from two information and communications technology (ICT) companies in Estonia. All material and data are entered into a case database (n = 20). The authors use a model of empirically grounded type construction and have constructed a typology of people management practices. The results make a significant contribution to people management by addressing the critical challenges and opportunities in managing human capital in the digital era.
Epilobium species have garnered attention for their potential use in benign prostatic hyperplasia; however, their polyphenolic composition has been primarily investigated. This study aimed to perform a comparative qualitative analysis and relative comparison based on gas chromatographyâmass spectrometry (GCâMS) peak area percentages of the volatile profile in three Epilobium species growing in Estonia. The volatile profiles of E. angustifolium, E. hirsutum, and E. parviflorum were obtained by hydrodistillation. The yield of the volatile fraction in the studied Epilobium species ranged from 0.24 to 0.78 mL/kg. Qualitative and semi-quantitative analyses of the volatile profile by GCâMS revealed the presence of 98 components, with a range of 87.12% to 92.93%. The most significant proportion of the volatile profile was made up of aliphatic hydrocarbons, 40.75%â43.09% for E. angustifolium and 34.29%â45.04% for E. hirsutum, and aliphatic acids, 15.79%â29.29% for E. angustifolium and 7.44%â22.45% for E. hirsutum. E. hirsutum also had a significant content of aldehydes and ketones, 7.08%â9.03%. Within the volatile profile, monoterpenoids in E. parviflorum accounted for 51.92%, aliphatic acids for 19.43%, and sesquiterpenes for 6.76%. Thus, aliphatic hydrocarbons and fatty acids generally prevailed in E. angustifolium and E. hirsutum, while monoterpenoids predominated in E. parviflorum. Numerous volatile profiles (22â50) were identified for the first time in the investigated species. Although the yield of volatile profiles in Epilobium species is low, due to their biological activity, they may have a beneficial effect in benign prostatic hyperplasia, which requires further investigation.
In response to global public health challenges and increasing demands for skilled practitioners, this study explores professionalisation and competency-based approaches among health promotion specialists in local governments in Estonia. The aim was to identify priority areas for competency enhancement and examine opportunities and barriers to additional training. Semi-structured interviews with local government leaders (N = 10) and health promotion specialists (N = 9) were conducted. The sample consisted of interviewees recruited in 2022â2023 and represented three groups: local governments that had created or updated their health and well-being profile, those currently working on it, and those that had not yet begun updating the profile. Thematic analysis identified themes related to the role of health promotion specialists, training needs, awareness of learning opportunities, and the development of core competencies. The findings revealed considerable variation in how the role of health promotion specialists is understood, alongside limited awareness of the competency framework guiding the profession. Key challenges included inconsistent role definitions, resource constraints, and uneven institutional support for training. Priority areas for competency development were identified in needs assessment, planning, evaluation, and communication. Major barriers to professional development included lack of time, funding, organisational support, and awareness of training opportunities, while employer encouragement, flexible learning formats, and perceived relevance to daily work emerged as important enabling factors.
In remote areas with insufficient ground infrastructure, user devices (UDs) are constrained by limited computing resources, which poses substantial challenges to achieving low-latency and energy-efficient data processing. To address these issues, this paper proposes a dual-layer heterogeneous network architecture that makes full use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and low Earth orbit (LEO) computing resources. Considering the high mobility of LEO satellites, the characteristics of channel variations, and the queuing delay of user task offloading, the optimization objective is modeled as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem, aiming to minimize the weighted sum of delay and energy consumption (i.e., the total system cost). A low-complexity alternating optimization algorithm is proposed. The original problem is decomposed into three subproblems: bandwidth allocation, central processing unit (CPU) frequency allocation, and task scheduling optimization, which are solved using convex optimization, the Lagrange multiplier method, and the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), respectively. Finally, the Pareto method is used to seek the best trade-off among the optimization objectives. The simulation results indicate that the average total system cost of the alternating optimization for task offloading and resource allocation (AOTORA) decreases by 25.8%, 11.63%, 12.48%, and 6.84% compared with random optimization, equal bandwidth allocation, the offloading LEO satellite algorithm, and distributionally robust optimization, respectively.
The recent changes in the European Union Wastewater Directive require micropollutant elimination from the effluents of wastewater treatment plants serving at least 150 000 population equivalents, and in some cases even starting from 10 000. While ozonation can degrade micropollutants without secondary wastes, the treated effluent composition must be considered, specifically the concentration of bromide (Brâ). Depending on its amount and oxidant dose, bromide can potentially be oxidised to carcinogenic bromate (BrO3â). This research investigates bromide amounts in the effluents of Estonian wastewater treatment plants serving at least 10 000 population equivalents as preliminary work for quaternary wastewater treatment aimed at micropollutant removal.
The aim of this study was to differentiate surface-associated microflora and microorganisms resistant to washing in dry oat (Avena sativa L.) seeds and to evaluate the effect of 24 h maceration in sterile distilled water on microbial release. Commercial seed samples were processed aseptically in the microbiology laboratory. Two experimental phases were applied: (i) pre-maceration, where seeds were briefly rinsed in sterile distilled water and the suspension was analyzed for surface-associated microorganisms, and (ii) post-maceration, where seeds were soaked for 24 h, allowing the release of microorganisms resistant to washing and associated with protected seed-coat niches. Suspensions were filtered through 0.45 μm membranes and cultured on selective and differential media: nutrient agar for heterotrophs, m-Endo agar for total coliforms, m-FC agar for fecal coliforms, SalmonellaâShigella agar for enteric pathogens, and potato dextrose agar (PDA) for yeasts and molds. Results showed that before maceration, the highest microbial load was fecal coliforms (244 CFU/100 mL), followed by heterotrophs and total coliforms (39 CFU/100 mL), while no yeasts or molds were detected. After maceration, microbial counts decreased by 41% for fecal coliforms, 90% for Salmonella/Shigella, and more than 90% for heterotrophs. These findings indicate that dry oat seeds may harbor potentially harmful microorganisms not only on the surface but also tightly associated with protected structures of the seed coat. The internal presence of microorganisms has important implications for agriculture, as it may adversely affect seed germination and early plant de- velopment in the field, thereby reducing growth quality and productivity. Maceration combined with membrane filtration represents a simple and effective approach to detect these risks, with direct relevance for seed quality control and food safety.
