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Challenges and actions by state adversaries in the economic-social and military domains at the regional and global levels necessitate a more detailed approach to combat power at the operational level of NATO. This concept refers to the availability of the necessary logistical capabilities, as well as the leadership's skills and willingness to use them effectively and efficiently on operational components and functions in the area/theater of joint multinational operations. In this paper, I highlight the appropriate elements for augmenting the logistics planning of joint multinational operations, the primary role of tailored support following the new requirements revealed by the lessons identified in the armed conflict in Ukraine. The sequences and subsections developed in the material present an approach and correlation necessary for increasing the role of logistical planning in joint multinational operations to provide timely support with sufficient resources to the organized, engaged, and led multinational joint forces in achieving operational objectives and the end state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Conference: Crisis Management Days is the property of University of Applied Sciences Velika Gorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted all aspects of human life, including the educational settings. Online and hybrid learning carried out during and after the pandemic certainly has a positive and a negative side, especially when it comes to students' mental health. At the same time, psychological well-being problems have become increasingly common among students nowadays. Thus, the main objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between mental health and psychological well-being among university students. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS) were administered to a sample of 240 university students (129 female and 111 male students). The results indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between the level of psychological well-being and psychological distress. The students' psychological well-being had the highest rating in personal growth, self-acceptance, purpose of life and environmental mastery, while autonomy and positive relationship with others had lower levels. Simultaneously, there was a positive relationship between mental health and gender, but there was no correlation between psychological well-being and gender. The study concluded that those mental health problems have powerful predictive qualities with regard to changes in students' psychological well-being which reflects the implication of intervention programs and strategies that help students to better cope with and manage distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family support is essential for academic success and the creation of resilient learners. Support is a complex and contested terrain that is variously described based on disparate philosophical lenses through which it is viewed. It cannot be denied that learners are bound to encounter several challenges during their educational expedition that might require support. In this study the focus is on learners with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) who are firstly assessed, diagnosed then recommended placement into a special class. Subsequently, they may well be required to transition from the mainstream class to a special class. Transition tends to be a challenging time for learners in general, however, it may particularly be more challenging for learners with MID for several reasons (i.e., fear of change, attachment issues, bullying from other peers etc.). Essentially, family support becomes critical in facilitating this process since it is construed for positive transition processes. Furthermore, it increases the motivation and confidence of a learner with MID who may potentially encounter discrimination and marginalisation during transition. Notwithstanding, the numerous benefits of family support for learners with MID, a variety of challenges experienced by families in the provision of support to a learner with MID have been identified in a school located in a semi-rural part of a South African province. Such challenges include but are not limited to poor communication between families and homes, lack/limited of knowledge and lack of functional family-school partnerships. Drawing from this, the current study aims to provide possible approaches to mitigate the challenges experienced by families in providing support to learners with MID during the transition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic violence is a prevalent and complicated issue that can have detrimental effects on the survivors, their families, and communities. Survivors are often reluctant to divulge their experiences to others in person for social, emotional, privacy, or cultural reasons. Consequently, many are not actively seeking support that meets their needs. Conversational agents, a form of technology support, hold great promise for facilitating counseling and support by promoting self-disclosure and enhancing user engagement. To address the knowledge gaps in design principles for conversational agents for DV survivors, we conducted in-depth interviews with 11 professionals working with domestic violence survivors. After analyzing the interview transcripts and related literature, we identified several meta-requirements and categorized them into four categories -- conversation, language, support, and trust. We further grouped these meta-requirements into several design principles. Our work lays the foundation for design science research in designing and developing conversational agents to support domestic violence survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this research was to identify the characteristics that have a substantial impact on employee performance. The literature on which the study hypothesis is based is literature on managerial support, work motivation, job satisfaction, and employee performance. This study's research approach is quantitative, and the sample is drawn using the convenience sampling methodology. In this research, survey approaches were used to obtain data. A partial least squares technique was used to examine the data. According to the data analysis findings, employee job satisfaction positively and substantially influences work motivation. When job happiness is mediated by work motivation, it has a favorable and considerable influence on employee performance. Job satisfaction has a strong and favorable influence on job motivation. If management support is mediated by work motivation and job satisfaction, it will have a favorable and considerable influence on employee performance. Management assistance has a strong beneficial influence on work satisfaction. If job happiness is mediated, management assistance will have a favorable and considerable influence on work motivation. Work motivation has a big and favorable influence on employee performance. The firm may make many recommendations considering the study's findings. Companies must concentrate on enhancing job satisfaction, which will improve employee work motivation, with management support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research was aimed at studying the influence of distance learning format on the educational activity motivation of full-time students, as well as at conducting a comparative analysis of the 1st and 2nd year full-time students' educational activity motivation in the context of traditional and distant learning formats. The article presents the results of the study conducted in Cherepovets State University. Theoretical background is primarily based on the studies of activity motivation phenomenology. To collect empirical data, a standardized diagnostic technique “Scales of internal and external motivational orientation” by Amabil (adaptation of Gordeeva and Osin) and survey methods were used. The results analysis showed that in distance learning conditions, the number of students with internal motivation decreased from 32% in 2019 to 28% in 2020, while the number of students with external negative motivation increased significantly from 29% in 2019 to 42% in 2020. To understand the reasons for the changes in educational activity motivation, the survey of students and teachers was carried out. The comparative analysis of educational activity motivation of full-time students in traditional and distance learning formats, the analysis of external and internal reasons for negative tendencies manifestation in changing educational motivation allowed us to identify and to test the tools for supporting the students’ internal motivation and minimizing negative trends arising in the process of forming educational motivation in the context of distance learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much like every other aspect of contemporary life, parenting has been affected by the Internet. Parents use the Internet in a variety of ways while raising their children, including as a source of information and support. In addition to accessing static information, they engage with others in social media contexts. In this study, we present a systematic review of the research on social media use to support parenting activities, examining research trends and more substantively how parenting and social media intersect. A search of studies published between 2010-2019 yielded 70 relevant articles, classified as providing health-related support, school-related support, and general support. Findings suggest that research in this area is emergent and growing quickly, and most existing studies focus on specific instances of support. The field would benefit from underlying work to establish the prevalence, scope, and nature of parent social media support activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The countryside aging is widely considered European problem. The same could be observed at the level of farms, where in several European countries farming population is getting statistically older. Thus, this paper aims to define the main aspects of the young farmer support policies and programmes applied in the Czech Republic. Also, in addition, we tried to identify policy process which is related to young farmer issues at the level of the EU and the Czech Republic. To achieve this aim we collected the data on the support mechanism related to young farmer (below 41 years of age) mainly from the official European and Czech resources. Based on the results received we can identify large number of resources which are provided to farmers below 41 years of age or individuals starting with farming activities. We identified 2 main instruments – direct payments and investment grants, both sourced from the EU budget. At the level of the policy processes, we identified several organisations involved in lobbying however only one is exclusively oriented to young farmer issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of CISTI (Iberian Conference on Information Systems & Technologies / Conferência Ibérica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informação) Proceedings is the property of Conferencia Iberica de Sistemas Tecnologia de Informacao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aims to investigate factor consumers' mobile banking implementation and satisfaction on perceived risks in Indonesia. Data were collected from 178 mobile banking user in Jakarta, Aceh, Bengkulu, Samarinda and analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). It was initiate that Performance Risk could have a positive influence on adoption mobile banking, privacy risk could have a positive influence on adoption mobile banking. On the other hand using m-banking has a positive effect on m banking satisfaction. Practical implications of this study if banks that use mobile banking as one of the main tools for their customers' financial transactions must ensure all transaction risks and security privacy that occur when customers use mobile banking are reduced by several approaches to customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters often occur in almost all areas that have the potential to experience disasters. However, problems arise when the process of distributing aid is hampered by manual and incidental logistics management, so the process of distributing logistical assistance to disaster victims is not effective. E-logistics is a system for distributing goods from source to destination. In the context of this paper, the source is a place where logistical assistance is collected and the destination is where the victims of natural disasters are located. Meanwhile, geographic information system is a system that provides regional information in spatial form. The research method used a qualitative approach by observing the site of natural disasters and interviews with parties related to natural disaster management. The purpose of this research is to assist the government in distributing aid to victims of natural disasters by integrating e-logistic systems and geographic information systems. The results of this study are an integrated e-logistics model and geographic information system for victims of natural disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid tourism development accompanied by exponential increase in the number of tourists and visitors in destinations can disrupt the life of destination residents and negatively affect their support for (future) tourism development. On the other hand, residents economically dependent on tourism might have different attitudes toward tourism in comparison to those who are not economically involved in tourism. Several studies have found that economic dependence on tourism induces more positive perceptions of tourism impacts and higher degree of support than non-dependence. Another potential valuable predictor of tourism support could be residents' subjective well-being, enhancing our understanding quality of life under the influence of tourism. The purpose of this study is to better understand local residents' support for tourism development by exploring their well-being, involvement in tourism activities and perceived overall value of tourism development. In order to gain a specific perspective of island tourism destination, a sample of residents living on a small Adriatic island Vir (Croatia) was chosen. Vir is high seasonal and mature destination with annual number of visitors around 30 times bigger than the number of permanent residents. It was found that those residents who are directly or indirectly economically benefiting from tourism have significantly higher scores in personal and national well-being domains and also exhibit higher support towards future tourism development, than those who don't experience economic benefits from tourism. Regression analysis of an island well-being perception index, revealed that tourism generates more benefits than costs and economical involvement in tourism positively affect residents' tourism development support. On the other hand, demographic predictors (age, gender, education, income) and personal well-being index are not associated with tourism development support. The results provide important insights for researchers and practitioners on understanding residents' perceptions of tourism in mature destinations and how those perceptions can be related both to subjective well-being and the level of involvement in tourism activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of CISTI (Iberian Conference on Information Systems & Technologies / Conferência Ibérica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informação) Proceedings is the property of Conferencia Iberica de Sistemas Tecnologia de Informacao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In my paper I will focus on the most efficient strategies for teaching Romanian as a Foreign Language in the Covid-19 context. My groups are composed of 20 students each, I team up with other 3 teachers and we devise our lessons so we cover general Romanian as well as Romanian for Specific Purposes. Our students study Romanian intensively, in 2 semesters, and at the end they follow their BSc/MA/doctoral programs. Students come from all over the world and their interests are extremely varied. This is one of the factors which can contribute to ensuring a high level of homogeneity of the intensive courses provided, as the teachers should – and do - have the skills and openness to: - collaborate closely in designing the course content and structure, - set up a methodological approach based on modern pedagogical principles, and - communicate quite closely throughout the study modules in order to adjust/amend course elements with a view to improving its quality. The permanent concern towards the optimization of the RFL course is generated by an effort of DCLM to contribute to an increase of visibility and prestige of the university – and, not less important – to its ranking among the best ones in Europe. In response to the Romanian legislation for higher education requirements, the course of RFL is now being under full process of being granted recognition by accreditation (after much debate took place at country level on the manner such a process should be organized). Hence an increased interest of the teaching team and DCLM management to carry out optimization of the RFL course in an appropriate way, by putting together various methods, among which getting feedback from all the actors in the instructional process is one of utmost significance. - take advantage of our current teaching potential – and even increase efforts by getting the staff members involved in the RFL course design and organization to do research in order to identify best ways of optimizing it, and share such information with fellow teachers – and this is precisely what we are trying to carry out in this study; - involve the teachers in the process of getting feedback, with a role of adding precious information and of triangulating the other data, of a more quantitative type; - monitor the students’ progress in learning and their way towards attaining professional success quite closely, and even publicly within our organization – and not only, by Testimonials, RFL Graduate Questionnaires and/or Interviews and so on; continue to design feedback obtaining ways and means/instruments and applying them periodically in order to optimize the RFL course permanently, as this is a cyclic amendable dynamic process. Historically speaking, RFL for Anul Pregatitor (Preparatory Year – PY) has got a long tradition with the POLITEHNICA University of Bucharest. The current teaching team consists of four teachers with qualifications in teaching Romanian as a foreign language and a PhD in Philology and/or Education Sciences; they have gained vast experience in teaching RFL. The UPB - PY welcomes foreign students from all over the world, viz. at least 10 different countries and three continents. Certainly, as pointed out in the literature - and as the case is in our context as well – there is ‘a great deal of variability between each student’s optimized learning zone’; this is determined of course by the following elements of difference: - different cultural backgrounds, with potential both linguistic and even cultural barriers, - different areas of skills – both hard and soft, and, - as our students are master and doctoral levels, age can also be an element of differentiation among them, too. The teaching of such a course as the RFL - PY to a variety of students has raised a range of problematic issues, due to the complexity of the situation. Some of the factors specific to the context, and that increase the challenge to be faced by the instructors are: - numerous groups of students, - variety of educational and cultural backgrounds of the students, - dates of students’ arrivals (due to visa obtaining problems in some cases), - difference between expectations and factual reality for some, - difference of mentality (‘I am the paying client, so I am the master here!’ – as a philosophy of some learners, at least at the beginning of the course), - logistics and organizational matters, related to the transfer of information and course input, on a daily basis, from one teacher to the next, - pace of reflection vs change, which is different for each teacher, as they are welldefined personalities, with already formed teaching principles. The main objectives of the course are to help the students to: - use the language in both a general and an academic context, - be able to develop all fours skills (reading, speaking, listening, writing), and - adopt a positive, intercultural attitude towards the other members of the team. The level aimed for the students to reach at the end of course is B2 - CEFR. The expectations of the factors involved in ordering the course, namely: the Ministry of Education of Romania, the UPB, the students themselves and the teachers of technical disciplines who are going to supervise the master and doctoral candidates dissertations and/or theses, are that by the end of the course the students have attained this level and they would have become independent learners who will be able to continue to study within the Romanian context. Awareness of the limitations and challenges of the given context is a must. Here are some of the issues to be faced: - as students never arrive at the same time, we cannot form a single homogenous group, but after the enrolment period has been closed, students are split into two or more groups, based on the time of their arrival and the level attained during the first weeks of tuition; - groups are usually large, and, considering that students come from very different cultural backgrounds, the integration stage may take long at the beginning; - the students’ low level of English that sometimes can hamper communication in class; - due to the fact that there are quite few teaching resources for the teaching – evaluation of RFL, teachers always have to adapt materials, design their own course materials and permanently (re)adjust them to the needs of the students; - teaching multicultural classes comes along with numerous challenges. Teachers need to consequently adapt materials, level their language to the students’ level and avoid sensitive topics for discussion in class. It is also of utmost importance for the teacher to be familiar with the cultural background of the students as this will ease the integration process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decades, wearable computers emerged as an innovative and promising technology. Though most of the representatives have not yet reached market maturity, smartwatches hit the consumer market due to the accessibility of affordable devices and predominant acceptance caused by the large similarity to common wrist-watches. Besides, recent research studies showed that smartwatches can support mobile employees in collaborative business-related scenarios through permanent availability, unobtrusiveness and hands-free operation. In this paper, we focus on support employees and analyze three representative scenarios with practical relevance. These are composed of immediate support and routine maintenance processes. During a software development process, we design and implement a smartwatch-based software artifact to address the scenario inherent problems and a broad range of support use cases. It is then used as a foundation for a mixed-methods field study in which we focus on the adoption of smartwatches. We first evaluate the software artifact within the scenarios. Second, we elaborate on enabling and inhibiting factors for the adoption of smartwatch-based information systems to support employees based on the TOEI framework. And finally, we derive the Smartwatch Applicability Framework intended for companies to check their scenarios for the applicability of smartwatches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are an important part of the environment, but they are also a source of economic benefits. The society puts great demands on forests as an important environmental element. This create strong pressure from the public for comprehensive fulfilment of all, wood production and non- wood production functions. However, sufficient sources of funding need to be found to ensure their realization. There is a large-scale of policy tools to support sustainable forest management, like technical assistance, outreach education, financial incentives, and regulations. Among these policies and programs, financial incentives, particularly tax incentives, hold a significant position. The paper presents the possibilities of application tax allowances as an additional source of funding for the ecosystem services. In the example of Slovak Republic, the main advantages and disadvantages of applying the analysed forest policy tool are approached. Application of the tax exemption from forest land tax on certain types of forest stands increases the resources available for forest enterprises. Then they can be used for financing the forest ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how early childhood (EC) leaders in South Africa support the EC centres in the townships of Gauteng Province. The term township refers to underdeveloped and racially segregated urban areas reserved for black communities, specifically Coloured, Africans and Indians. The townships are usually built outside the cities and towns. The term (township) also has a discrete legal implication in South Africa's system of land title, which carries no tribal connotations. Gauteng Province is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It is the economic hub of the country and consists of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to understand the support practices by EC leaders through providing insight into the subjective experiences of practitioners. In this paper, support means empowering practitioners. This paper followed the qualitative approach in exploring how EC leaders support practitioners in a diverse cultural milieu. The paradigm used is interpretive because the author interpreted the support mechanisms offered. Data was collected through literature review. The paper contends that knowledge and understanding of diverse cultures is significance in giving support to culturally diverse EC centres. The expectation is that EC leaders should have the skill and ability to support practitioners in any given context. Findings reveal that good support can happen when there is collaboration between principals, practitioners and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest industry in the Russian Federation is actively developing. A large amount of material resources are invested in this industry. At the same time, technological and production equipment is being modernized, and the supply chains of forest products are optimized [1]. In the North-West Federal District of the Russian Federation in recent years, a large number of enterprises of the timber industry complex increase the volume of roundwood transportation by water transport, particularly in rafts [1,2]. To receive a larger number of timber transport units, wood processing enterprises need to expand the float raids and increase the number of parking lots. For fixing the arrived rafts in the parking lots, different types of supports are used: shore and channel ones. At the timber industry enterprises of the north-west of Russia, pile pylons are installed to prevent the “drying” of rafts and to anchor timber transport units in the riverbed. In the case when an enterprise raid is located at the mouth of a river, during the spring and winter period, the pile support is subjected to additional loads due to freezing of ice and fluctuations of water levels in the river due to the action of tidal currents. As a result of this, the pile support is dismantled by ice. Therefore the technology of parking equipment involves the annual driving of pile bushes in the spring period after the passage of ice drift. According to the authors, this is not economically rational, as it forces enterprises to annually spend labor and material resources on the manufacture and installation of pile bed supports. However, their installation must be made in a short time. For research, a pile support with increased holding force was selected, which is additionally equipped with a holding device in the form of an anchor [3]. The paper presents the results of the study, the method of research, the analysis of experimental data and the mathematical dependences obtained during the analysis. The obtained experimental data and dependences are processed by standard statistical means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to determine the extent of occurrence and frequency of partner violence in students' romantic relationships, including the issue of whether there are differences in the forms of violence (psychological, physical, sexual), as well as willingness to seek and to provide help in case of violence. Methods: The study involved 104 female and male students (average age was 22.6) enrolled at the University of Mostar. The following measurement instruments were used in the research: Dating Violence Perpetration scale, Dating Violence Victimisation scale, and Willingness to Seek and Provide Help scale. Results: The results have shown that dating violence is widespread among University students, that young men perpetrate all forms of violence, and that a larger number of women have experienced physical and sexual violence. Willingness to seek help in the event of dating violence is weak, while in contrast to that finding, young men and women have expressed great willingness to provide help to friends who are victimised by dating violence in a relationship. Conclusion: The results of this research represent a contribution to previous research, and in particular to research among University students in Bosnia and Herzegovina since such research is scarce in the scientific literature. The results also represent a practical contribution to raising the level of awareness of dating violence among the youth and provide certain insights and guidelines on support for the youth, particularly in terms of establishing preventive programs in youth work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation is currently one of the most prominent topics in information systems research. In this context, existing work mainly focuses on the digitalization of business models and impacts on economy or society, representing a macro perspective on digital transformation. However, with the transformation of business models also come significant IT-induced changes of underlying processes and eventually workplace environments. In this paper, the term "digital workplace transformation" is introduced and corresponding success factors investigated, thereby adding a micro perspective to the ongoing research stream on digital transformation. Driven by facets of self-determination, it will be shown for an organization in the wholesale industry, that enabling employees to feel autonomous, competent and connected in the future workplace environment is not only vital for their expected performance but also expected well-being. Both in turn increase the users' positive attitude towards digital workplace transformation and intentions to actively support necessary change processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurial class projects are long-term projects trapped in short-term classes. In information systems programs, they are found in classes such as introduction to information systems, project management, systems analysis and design, web development, or major-specific capstone classes. Despite the valuable work and effort invested in these projects, there is little evidence of the continuation of these projects after classes ended. This study addresses this issue by finding quantitative evidence of the continuation or not of class entrepreneurial projects and by exploring potential factors affecting such continuation. The study uses the case of an entrepreneurial class project that has been completed within many different sections of an information systems class in a big public university in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zbornik Radova / Proceedings SKEI (1986-5945) is the property of University Vitez, Bosnia & Herzegovina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The recent post-crisis years have brought significant problems onto the surface, where Croatian people, particularly young, do not see the perspective in their homeland. This is especially obvious in the rural communities where the emigration took on the form of the total exodus. The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities of the young people engagement in the service learning to support social entrepreneurship venture initiatives, particularly in rural areas. At the beginning we shall set out the framework by defining the main concepts that lie behind the idea - the social entrepreneurship and the service learning. Then we shall present several initiatives based on the qualitative approach - analysis of such cases from the literature. Furthermore, this will be supplemented by more thorough analysis of the two case studies from the Croatian practice to promote the idea of a rural life sustainable potential. The data were acquired through in-depth semi-structured interviews which were conducted with Croatian social entrepreneurs from rural areas by using the method of phenomenological interviewing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With 328 million average monthly active users, Twitter is listed as one of the top four social networking sites (SNSs), yet little is known about what cardiovascular tweets go viral and what characteristics are associated with the retransmission. The current study aims to identify a function of the observable characteristics of cardiovascular tweets, including characteristics of the source, content, and style in predicting the retransmission of these tweets. We drew a random sample of 1,251 tweets associated with cardiovascular disease originating from the U.S. in 2013. Automated coding was conducted on the affect values of the tweets as well as the presence/absence of any URL, mention of another user, question mark, exclamation mark, and hashtag. We hand-coded the tweets' novelty, utility, theme and source. The count of retweets was positively predicted by message utility, health organization source, and mention of user handle, but negatively predicted by the presence of URL and non-health organization source. Regarding theme, compared to the tweets focusing on risk factor, tweets on treatment and management predicted fewer retweets while supportive tweets predicted more retweets. From the diffusion of innovations perspective, the study sheds light on using twitter to disseminate cardiovascular educational and supportive information to improve public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews extant conceptualizations of procedural justice and reports results of an empirical study testing the effects of fair procedures on deliberative outcomes. From a communicative action perspective, this paper argues that Habermas's conceptions of speech conditions and validity conditions can be used to evaluate the discursive and substantial dimensions of procedural justice in deliberation. The communicative measures are compatible with extant justice measures and provide a more communication-centered ground for evaluating the rightfulness of democratic decision making. The applied setting involves public discussions about the Singapore government's population policies in an online deliberation setting. Survey data were collected from 456 participants before and after deliberations. Fair procedures are positively associated with participants' general support for the incorporation of deliberation in policymaking. The relationship between procedural justice and specific policy support is mixed. Findings from this study clarify the theoretical basis of procedural justice measures and advance existing knowledge about the normative and practical value of fair deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over-parenting, a growing phenomenon of overinvolved and protective parents, has long-lasting negative effects on children. This study surveyed 430 first-year undergraduate students in the United States and 95 international first-year students from China studying in the U.S. to test mediators (i.e., family support and protective buffering) that explain the relationship between over-parenting and adjustment to college. Over-parenting was primarily indirectly and negatively related to adjustment outcomes through family support and protective buffering, though direct effects were found in two cases for Chinese international students. This study also identifies that students (especially Chinese students) differentiate between evaluative and descriptive questions about over-parenting. Implications for family and intercultural communication scholars are discussed along with practical implications for families of college students and college adjustment professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study proposes and tests a communication model of transition resilience (CMTR) to predict resilience during life transitions. A sample of 436 first-year college students reported their communication environment growing up, perceived friend and family support, communication confidence, and communicative resilience at two points in time. Mediational model testing revealed that friend and family support mediate the positive relationship between communication environment and resilience. Communication confidence was also an important positive indirect predictor of resilience. This test of the CMRT focuses on the transition to college, though we propose this model could be used to predict resilience in other transitions. Implications for communication process and resilience scholars are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Journal Systemy Wspomagania w Inzynierii Produkcji is the property of P.A. Nova S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Leaving home countries to study in another country can impose a big cultural challenge to students and teachers in the classroom. This study will aim to share the experience of teaching and interacting with international students, with main focus on Romanian students studying at QA higher education in partnership with Northumbria, Ulster, Roehampton and Middlesex Universities based in London. The main purpose for this study was to compare our previous studies that focused on Nigerian students' experiences studying in the UK intuitions. The students concerned for this current study are both on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Business Studies. QAHE has over 3,000 foreign students on their Business programmes comprising Romanian, Bulgarian, Italian, and others from Mexico, Columbia, China, Vietnam and few from the UK. Majority of the undergraduate students are from Romania studying undergraduate Business programme and the rest studying postgraduate Business programme are mainly from other foreign countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calculation of the mining support in tunnels and/or underground facilities can be based on application of contemporary numerical methods, but sometimes it can be performed with the classical methods too. These methods can be found to be used in order to choose variants and ways of supporting, but also in the moments that unpredictably appears during the construction of facility. Before installing a permanent mining support, these methods can help the projector at the selection of type of support and ways of temporary supporting. These methods can also be applied at the mining facilities. In this paper, the method of supporting with the steel arch will be elaborated, and MATHCAD.-code is integral part of it. Examples are provided with the original units with the aim of verification of code, and as a separate part is based on the HOEC-Braun code for dimensioning of the steel arch support, concrete support or anchors. The examinations were carried out in the in-situ conditions at a cross section of up to 16 square meters in mines as follows: Magnesite Mine Kladanj, Brown Coal Mine "Breza", Mining Company "Kreka" Tuzla (Lignite Coal Mine "Mramor"). A special evaluation was done at the construction of horizontal underground faculty, road tunnel "Pecuj"located within corridor VC corridor. The analysis is carried out through the "Adina"software suite with the approximation of the tertiary tensional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice of support design for mine excavations driven beyond the influence zone of stoping in the conditions of permafrost is governed by the service life of the excavations, geomechanical behavior of surrounding rock mass and by working temperature range of ventilation. The research findings on influence exerted by temperature on stress state of rock mass around a single tunnel are presented. Based on solution of quasistatic thermo-elastic problems, the mechanisms of change in the stresses and displacements at the tunnel boundary depending on the service life and temperature of ventilation of the tunnel are determined. For the specific mineral deposit, it is shown that in a tunnel driven in rock mass with the initial temperature of -1.5°С at a depth of 350 m, with the ventilation temperature of 20°С during 3 years, the vertical convergence is comparable with the elastic displacement caused by the tunnel drivage. The approach is proposed for determining rock mass stability category based on the estimated displacements at the boundaries of a single tunnel with regard to thawing of adjacent rock mass. The obtained results are meant for the use in development of standards and procedures for selecting and validating support designs for mine excavations in permafrost zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation plays an important role in the business environment and can be a key competitive advantage for an enterprise. Several factors influence innovation activities of SMEs, including the economic environment, the legislative environment, technological factors and social factors. The aim of the article is to evaluate and compare the influence of individual factors on the innovation and further development of micro and SME enterprises in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The article deals with the partial results of the empirical questionnaire survey which was conducted in 2018 at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín in the Czech Republic. The survey addressed the owners of micro and SME enterprises and asked about the perception of the quality of the business environment. This article deals with the part of survey focused on innovativeness of SMEs. The research works with 329 valid answers from respondents from the Czech Republic and 312 respondents from Slovakia. Research focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, as they are a major catalyst for the economic growth of individual economies. Within the European Union, 98% of the business sector represents and covers two thirds of the employment contracts in the private sector. Three research questions were set to analyze the difference in the perception of business environment and its impact on SMEs in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. In the process of solving the formulated research questions, the following statistical tools such as tables, descriptive characteristics (mean, variance, standard, and deviation), and Person coefficient of contingency were used. Research results can be used by the government to address key issues related to SME support. Finally, the results indicate that the perception of macroeconomic environment and its impact on innovativeness of SMEs is different in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. Entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic are more skeptical about a support of macroeconomic environment in the innovation area. Slovak entrepreneurs are also more confident that current banks' interest rates help innovativeness in SMEs (only 34% of Czech entrepreneurs agree with this statement). The article concludes with a discussion of the possible causes of these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning aspirations reflect personality dispositions and pupils' ability to achieve certain goals; they are the pupil's ideas about these goals at school formed by the pupil's self-concept and previous successes or failures. In pupils of younger school age, aspirations are strongly determined by parenting and parents' attitudes to the child's school career. In the operational phase, a socio-psychological approach was chosen, according to which aspirations are not only the conscious and rational disposition of a person, but in which the influence of the individual's social and cultural environment is also evident. Primary school pupils' learning aspirations were studied in relation to their parents' ideas. Primary school pupils (N = 293) were assigned a 50-item scaled questionnaire with a five-point scale determining to what extent they agreed with a particular statement. As part of the questionnaire validity process, an exploratory factor analysis was performed and after several solutions were proposed, an optimally interpretable factor structure with 27 items was chosen, such that 13 statements were excluded. Based on the factor loadings, items were subdivided into 6 factors with a total reliability of 0.8. The research tool was then re-administered to pupils (N = 332) to ascertain their learning aspirations and how they perceive their parents' approaches towards their school achievement. Analysis of the data thus obtained confirmed that pupils have a personal motivation for learning (M = 1.90) and it is important for them to achieve the best results at school (M = 1.41). For both mothers and fathers, the pupils perceive their parents as persons who are strongly engaged in their school career and interested in the child's school achievement (M = 1.65 for mothers and M = 1.63 for fathers). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conference Proceedings from the Conference Days of Family Law of the Law Faculty, Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar / Zbornik Radova sa Konferencije 'Dani Porodicnog Prava' Pravnog fakulteta Univerziteta 'Džemal Bijedic' u Mostaru is the property of University of Dzemal Bijedic, Law Faculty and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The involvement of healthcare professionals in an adverse event can be a distressing experience with reactions that exist for a long time affecting their wellbeing, patient safety and the hospital where they are employed. While most suffer in isolation from difficulty sleeping, burnout, depression and suicidal tendencies among others, hospitals fail to recognize the impact of the involvement in adverse events on these healthcare professionals. In this study, the researcher seeks to develop, implement and evaluate an effective support program for healthcare professionals involved in adverse events in this academic hospital. An interventional research design will be used. The population will consist of professional nurses, doctors, hospital managers and spectators. Snowball sampling method will be utilised for the sampling of nurses and doctors with purposive sampling method used for the managers and spectators. Data from the nurses and doctors will be collected by the researcher through the documentation of their storytelling while the in-depth, semistructured interviews will be utilised for the managers and spectators. The Delphi technique will be applied where experts will validate the developed support program. The study will be conducted in four phases. Trustworthiness will be ensured and ethics of research principles will be adhered to throughout the study. The outcome of this study will be an original contribution to the body of professional nursing practice knowledge on the development of a support program for healthcare professionals involved in adverse events in order to facilitate their emotional wellbeing and improve patient safety, with relevance to nursing practice and policy, nursing education and nursing research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University / Daugavpils Universitates Starptautiskas Zinatniskas Konferences Materiali is the property of Daugavpils University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

All underground excavations (tunnels, mines, caverns, etc.) need a form of support to ensure that excavations remain safe and stable for the designed service lifetime. In the last decade, a new support material, thin spray-on liner (TSL) has started to take place of traditional underground surface supports of bolts and shotcrete. TSLs are generally cement, latex, polymer-based and also reactive or non-reactive, multi-component materials applied to the rock surface with a layer of few millimeter thickness. They have the advantages of low volume, logistics, rapid application and low operating cost. The majority of current TSLs are two-part products that are mixed on site before spraying onto excavation rock surfaces. Contrary to the traditional brittle supports, the high plastic behaviour of TSLs make them to distribute the loads on larger lining area. In literature, there is a very limited information exist on the creep behavior of TSLs. In this study, the creep behavior of a polymer-based TSL was investigated. For this purpose, 7-day cured dogbone TSL specimens were tested under room temperature and humidity conditions according to ASTM-D2990 creep testing standard. A range of dead weights (80, 60, 40, and 20% of the tensile strength) were applied up to 1500 hours. As a result of this study, the time-dependent strain behavior of a TSL was presented for different constant load conditions. Moreover, a new equation was derived to estimate tensile failure time of the TSL for a given loading condition. If the tensile stress acting on the TSL is known, the effective permanent support time of the TSL can be estimated by the proposed relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this conceptual explanatory research is to highlight the importance of training of Middle Managers or Heads of Department (HoDs) in leadership and management in South African public schools. Leadership responsibilities in schools are becoming more complex to the extent that principals can no longer be sole leaders in schools. The achievement of effective teaching and learning through leadership and management generally requires middle-level leaders such as heads of departments or subject leaders, to be trained. It focuses on "why" or "what caused" HoDs in schools to be trained in leadership and management. HoDs are former class teachers promoted to the role of supervising other teachers so their training and guidance about leadership and management skills by more experienced facilitators, may equip them with updated abilities, interests and knowledge for teacher leadership. Training facilitators guide HoDs who may not possess such skills, through formal training. The identified topics, aims and objectives, content regarding theoretical knowledge, practical skills to be acquired, attitude towards work and the necessary support materials were used in the presentation and these encouraged an interactive participation and engagement throughout the training process. The leadership and management programme was helpful in identifying what should be taken into consideration for leading and managing teachers and learning tasks. The skills developed by HoDs would assist them in producing a pool of highly qualified and committed teaching workforce in the field of education. A number of approaches were suggested for HoDs to increase their ability to act effectively and authoritatively based on ability and competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of stress state evaluation is really actual for the underground structures been exploited for a long time. Stress and deformation monitoring give opportunity for hazard prevention and planning operation mode of the underground facility. One of the most common methods of deformation control is convergence measurement, but transformation of measured data into stress state of underground structures is quite difficult. A technique for stress state evaluation of underground structures on the base of the analysis of structure's convergences measured in points of its inner outline is proposed. Convergence measurement gives data for determination of initial stresses in rock mass included ones induced by technological factors. Such factors as excavation method, construction technology, creep and changing of concrete properties may be also taking into account. Places of direct stress measurements for data correction may be pointed out by the technique proposed. Residual life of the underground structure and ultimate convergence corresponding to dangerous state are estimated as well. Stress state determination of the mine support is presented as an example of the technique implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of older adults is increasing in all European countries and these tendencies are also noticeable in Poland. Older adults are a group with substantial intellectual and social potential that can be used in many areas. The precondition for successful ageing is to maintain a good psychophysical status through participation in various forms of activity. With respect to the activity theory, the gerontologists emphasize that each human, even at older age, needs to be active and to feel needed while lost social roles can be compensated by various forms of activity and involvement. Many cities in Poland are engaged in the initiatives aimed at older adults and implement local programs of activation and support for this group of citizens. The focus of the study was on the forms of support for activities of older adults in the urban environment of Częstochowa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the people threatened with marginalization are people with various disabilities, who, for the subjective reasons, have limited opportunities to satisfy their own needs and experience difficulties with social integration. With the democratic standards, these people should be provided support in various areas of life while providing equal opportunities for education and vocational and social life. The social aspect of disabilities is being more and more often emphasized, which means that the problem results not only from biological defects but rather from barriers these people meet and lack of opportunities for meeting their needs. Striving for normalization and empowerment of people with disabilities are the major objectives of social policy in Poland. The goals are achieved with extended support programs in local environments. The study presents activities of social services in the area of Częstochowa that support social functioning of people with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Care for children deprived of properly functioning families represents an integral element of family-oriented social policy in Poland, which is based on the constitutional principle of subsidiarity. According to this principle, the state, through the system of legal guarantees and support structures, offers conditions for support at a local level while empowering families. The entities that are involved in tasks to support families include local social services institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the Church and religious associations, whereas the clients are families living in unfavourable economic conditions who were not equipped in life capital that would help them adjust to changing economic and social conditions. The study presents initiatives taken to support families in the urban environment of the city of Częstochowa in Poland with particular focus on professional social services performed within Voivodeship and local-level support programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study is an adaptation of the survey method for the preliminary evaluation of the Rural Development Program (RDP) in short-term, when the quantitative data for the period is not yet available. A survey of agricultural holdings and enterprises (i.e., on-line questionnaires with an e-mail notification) was therefore designed, equally targeting the units supported and non-supported by the Program. The survey covered all regions of Latvia, with a total of 867 responses obtained. The responses were stratified upon the participation of the respondents in the Program, including a breakdown by specific Program Focus Areas. The validity of the survey results was verified by means of the ANOVA regression. The questionnaire was divided into three sets of questions. For the questions in the first set, an ordinal (dichotomous) scale with two possible answers was used. The second set was designed with an interval scale, assuming five possible answers. The answers obtained from the second set were used for the assessment of the changes in financial and economic variables of the respondents' holdings during the initial stages of the Program 2014-2020 (from 2014 to 2016). The last set included questions related to the changes in social and economic indicators in the local communities of the respondents from 2014 to 2016. The 5-point Likert scale was used in the third set. The obtained results allowed evaluating the net effect of the support by comparing the changes in both groups (supported and non-supported units). The comparison of the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries suggests that the support is crucial in the promotion of long-term investments, agricultural output, market participation and, to a lesser extent, in the increase of income and employment. The questionnaire also allowed assessing the synergies between specific impact areas, like positive coherence between investments in agriculture and reduced use of fertilizers and pesticides per unit of area; activities in preserving and enhancing natural values; improved energy efficiency of equipment, technologies and buildings. The obtained results proved to be very useful for the evaluation purposes. They allowed identifying the areas of the Program with a significant positive impact (for example, an increase in the gross total investments and output for the direct beneficiaries) and areas with less than desired impact (creation of employment opportunities in the community, road improvement, social services). This method is also usable in addition to quantitative data for triangulation purposes. The financial and economic results obtained afterwards by quantitative techniques confirmed objectivity of the survey data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University / Daugavpils Universitates Starptautiskas Zinatniskas Konferences Materiali is the property of Daugavpils University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

High selectivity (100%) to pyrrolidine was obtained in pyrrole hydrogenation catalyzed by Ru/C. It was found that pretreatment of the carbon support had significant influence on catalytic activity. TOF increased as Ru particle size over Ru/CNTs, whereas TOF keep almost unchanged as Ru particle size increase over Ru/AC. The structure sensitivity revealed in Ru/CNTs is due to the size effect of Ru particle which can result in the pyrrolidine chemisorption strength changes. TOF variation found in Ru/AC is due to the coupling of the size effect and strong metal-support interaction. TEM, FTIR, BET and COChemsorption were performed to characterize the catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work-life balance refers to a person's level of priority of personal and professional activities in their life, as well as the amount to which activities related to their job are present at home. It is arguable what is the best work-life balance. During the Covid-19 pandemic, stress is generated not only by workplace pressure, but also by life at home, where work must be done at home and cannot leave the house due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Vinberg and Danielsson's (2021) research, the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on managers' welfare and work-life balance, despite the fact that they stated that it was difficult to access government support, but in the end they demonstrated creativity in finding new solutions for their companies. According to Tugsal (2020), since the Covid-19 outbreak, social support has had a statistically significant impact on moderating work-life balance features because workers felt supported and listened to by their colleagues and the company. After distributing surveys for two weeks in October 2021, 240 respondents participated in this study using a quantitative technique. According to the findings of this study, social support has an impact on work-life balance if one is satisfied with one's employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]