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This paper deals with media literacy as a multidimensional skill that parents and teachers possess. In this context we warn of the media-technical aspect of this skill and, within this aspect, of parents' and teachers' opinion on the presence of media in children's lives. Following that, the paper explores teachers' media-didactic competence as a component of educators' media literacy. In the empiric part we used two aspects of fostering media literacy. One is the media-technical competence of parents and educators, while the other is the media-didactic competence of educators. We found that both parents and teachers believe that media have a strong presence in everyday lives of pre-school children and that they play an important role in teaching pre-school children. Teachers are aware of the importance of early teaching with media, for media and about media with the purpose of developing children's media literacy, so they will not be afraid of media when they grow up.

Experimental work in the research of astronomical phenomena is often difficult or even impossible because of long-lasting processes or too distant objects and correspondingly too expensive equipment. In this paper, we present an example of observation of the Moon, which is our nearest astronomic object and therefore does not require professional astronomic equipment for observation. We focus on the observation of craters on the Moon, determining their lateral size and depth on the basis of photographs and simple calculations. The fieldwork with students of junior grade school education was performed within the framework of the optional subject Astronomy. An analysis of the results of the students' experimental work, as well as of curricula on various levels of education, led us to conclusion that this kind of experimental work is suitable for incorporation in secondary school physics education. With some mathematical simplifications, however, the treatment of the topic can also be appropriate in primary school. Such experimental work enables students to gain specific natural science and mathematical competences that are also required for the study of other natural phenomena.

The implementation of foreign languages in preschool education has prompted the need for qualified teachers. However, most recent studies report a gap between the supply of qualified foreign language teachers of young learners and the demand for such teachers as foreign languages are introduced earlier and earlier. The authors of this paper present some models of initial and in-service training of preschool foreign language teachers in Slovenia. As learners' beliefs about language learning have been considered an important variable, like many other individual differences in language learning, the main aim of the research was to determine pre-service preschool teachers' beliefs about early foreign language learning. The research was conducted on a sample of 90 pre-service preschool teachers. The results imply that future preschool teachers are aware of the importance of foreign language learning and their awareness raises with the year of study. The results of the survey indicate that it would be beneficial to include early foreign language teacher training in the education of preschool teachers who are willing to teach foreign languages in kindergartens in Slovenia and elsewhere.

This paper presents the results of a study conducted among pre-service home economics teachers from the Faculty of Education of the University of Ljubljana with different levels of practical experience in teaching. The pre-service Home Economics teachers in the 3rd year of their studies had just completed their first class of teaching experience in contrast to the pre-service teachers from the 4th year of their faculty studies, who had conducted more teaching lessons. The results showed that the 4th-year pre-service teachers had fewer doubts and problems concerning the planning and conducting of a lesson. They also statistically significantly agreed that they are sufficiently prepared to teach than the 3rd-year pre-service teachers are. The results showed that the majority of the pre-service teachers agreed that the feedback from their colleagues was helpful for their professional development. The results suggest the importance of practical teaching experience in the context of professional development and the intention to continue a career in education. However, the results also revealed some critical points in the teacher's development of competency. The results suggest problems related to the application of theoretical knowledge on the children's development in practice and problems related to classroom management in specific situations.

In the paper some issues and problems regarding the implementation of ICT in initial vocational education and training in Slovenia are discussed. After the brief analysis of the main theoretical characteristics of ICT and e-materials, the key findings from the recent EU survey on the ICT in schools are presented and some conclusions on the basis of the results of the ICILS study are drawn. In the second part of the article, some of the most relevant findings from the empirical research conducted on the representative sample of Slovenian secondary VET teachers and students are summarized and interpreted. We have asked teachers and students how often do they use offline and online available e-materials in teaching and learning and how do they evaluate their usefulness. While being quite critical towards the usefulness of available e-materials, the vast majority of teachers and students also claim that they use e-materials quite rarely. The reasons for such results should be further explored, compared with relevant statistical data in the national as well as international context, and appropriate systemic measures should be introduced.

Introduction: The paper presents one segment of the first comprehensive national study investigating information behaviour of Slovenian researchers in all research disciplines in relation to selected demographic variables. Research questions addressed various types of information behaviour, format preferences, use of different types of sources, organization of work, collaboration, publishing, and impact of information and communication technologies. Method: An online survey was used, containing content and demographic questions. It was based on a random sample of the central registry of all active researchers in Slovenia in all scientific disciplines and all age groups. Analysis: Descriptive and bivariate analysis were employed. Results: The most noticeable demographic elements of influence are age and discipline, and in a few cases also sex. In certain areas, the information behaviour of researchers under study conforms with general trends, for example in power-browsing, squirreling, skimming, etc. Information technology has a strong impact on research work and collaboration. A fairly large segment of researchers often work alone; this is particularly characteristic of researchers in the humanities. In Slovenia, these researchers also show a strong digital preference and do not differ much from researchers in other disciplines, probably because of the nationwide integrated system of research evaluation and centralized subscription to information resources. Low use of open access documents and weak foreign collaboration in some disciplines are also evidenced. Conclusions: Despite some expected outcomes, certain previously unknown and noteworthy patterns have been identified which are characteristic of Slovenian researchers. This information constitutes a useful foundation for further research in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to explore attitudes towards learning and perceptions of the learning environment. Our theoretical examination is based on the social-cognitive theory of motivation and research that emphasizes the connections between an individual's perceptions of the learning environment and his/her motivation, interest, attitudes and confidence. Recent theories that deal with "powerful learning environments" (Fraser, 2002) stress that the teacher should not look only at the physical aspects of the environment in which learning takes place, but also at the learner's perceptions and beliefs. The importance of multiple aspects of learning environments will be stressed and some recommendations for improving the effectiveness of these environments will be given. Additionally, some theoretical concepts of learning environments will be reviewed. We will examine empirically the differences and correlations that occur in adult learners' motivation and attitudes due to their psycho-social and physical learning environment. An international comparison between various post-socialist countries has also been carried out.

This paper aims to shed light on the level of social acceptance among students with learning disabilities (LD) in various secondary school vocational programs in comparison with their peers without disabilities. Our findings are based on an empirical study that comprised 417 students, of whom 85 were students with LD. Based on sociometric analyses of all participating classes, we determined that students with LD were less integrated into the classroom in comparison to their peers without LD. The results of the sociometric analysis show statistically significant differences in the sociometric position between students with LD and students without LD. While students with LD were most frequently perceived as rejected, students without LD were seen as popular or average. In addition, students with LD see themselves as less socially self-efficient compared to their peers. The results of our study mostly refer to boys, because the sample comprised 359 boys and 58 girls. We believe that pro-inclusion teachers with appropriately developed strategies for strengthening students' social skills, as well as positive attitudes and sufficient knowledge about the special needs of students can have a significant impact on the social acceptance of students with special needs in the classroom community.

This paper presents a comprehensive usability study conducted within the context of a Europe-wide project. The design of the evaluated e-learning platform is based on an innovative approach to the education of young Europeans by integrating into the curricula of a Europe-wide network of 14 schools different state-of-the-art technologies in e-learning. The evaluation methodology brings together end-user assessments and expert inspections, thus providing a detailed students', teachers' and experts' feedback. User testing integrates six empirical methods into a laboratory-based test. Usability inspection ascertains usability problems by means of recognized heuristics and enables an "educational evaluation" of the platform by means of three sets of criteria. The paper aims to present the effectiveness of the engaged evaluation methods as applied to e-learning platforms. It offers implications from the empirical findings of the user-based methods together with a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the employed inspection methods. Special attention is given to the aspect of educational evaluation. The conducted critical usability examination of a large-scale e-learning system across several countries in Europe revealed which of the chosen assessment methods should be combined to provide constructive and valuable improvement suggestions. A more significant contribution of this research is that the used evaluation approach proved successful, providing some general findings and know-how from the experience and could be reused by other researches because of its thorough structure. As there are relatively few existing accounts of usability assessment in the e-learning context, this paper adds to the body of knowledge. (Contains 15 figures.)

This paper presents the results of a survey among pre-service and in-service students of pre-school education and students of environmental sciences on the acceptability of value-laden statements made by their teachers on issues of sustainable development and climate change. Fifteen statements were provided, and students had to choose among the options "acceptable statement", "unacceptable statement" and "cannot decide". The questionnaire was completed by 139 students from two universities in Slovenia. The results show that the students expect their teachers to promote the principles of sustainable development. The majority of students considered any teacher's statement that would cast doubt on the cause or the necessity to act against climate change to be unacceptable. Teacher's statements emphasising global issues that have, or could have, a direct impact on developed countries (e.g. climate change) received higher support than those global questions that more heavily impact underdeveloped or developing countries (e.g. poverty, child labour, access to natural resources). In the conclusion, it is emphasised that teachers should assist students in developing their own moral positions on complex issues such as sustainable development and climate change. Structured discussion techniques, such as a panel discussion, forum and debate, should be regularly and carefully implemented into lectures at the university level.

One of the widest elaborations of generativity today is the theoretical model proposed by McAdams and de St. Aubin. This model has not yet been tested completely, that is only some of its components and their relations have been tested. The main reasons for such an empirical status of the model are inadequately clear operationalizations of the components of the model. After our previous research, which include adaptation of scales for measuring of some key components of model, generative care and generative action (Lackovic-Grgin et al., "Suvremena Psihologija," 5, 9, 2002; Lackovic-Grgin, "Zbirka psihologijskih skala i upitnika," Zadar: University of Zadar, 2004; Tucak et al., "Generativna briga i generativno djelovanje u odraslih osoba u Hrvatskoj i Sloveniji," XVII Dani Ramira i Zorana Bujasa, "Summaries," 98, 2005), as well as operationalization of so called belief in species component (which is a component of philosophy about human nature) (Cubela Adoric et al., "Philosophies of Human Nature in Adolescents and Adults," 7th Alps-Adria Conference in Psychology, "Abstracts," 167, 2005), in this paper we have tried to evaluate life goals questionnaire. This questionnaire tried to measure the other component of the model--inner desire. In that way we could realize the main goal of this paper, research of how important are the evaluations in the prediction of generative action in Croatian and Slovenian adults. Generative action is under the strong influence of cultural demands and inner desires. There are more sociological and economical indications about the differences in expected social development in countries like Croatia and Slovenia. Because of the fact that in the last decade Slovenia has been developed more than Croatia, we could expect that this could also be manifested in assessment of importance of some areas of life, which are relevant for generative action (e.g., work, marriage, free time), for life goals of agency and communion, as well as a possible predictor of generative action. The greater differences were obtained in some predictors of generative action (e.g. importance of job, importance of free time, goals of agency and communion), as well as in their predictive importance.

Authors in this paper present the design and implementation of daily routines in Slovenian kindergartens. Slovenian national document for preschool education, "Curriculum for Kindergartens" (1999), describes daily kindergarten activities (communication and interaction with and among children, use of compliment and reprehension, and rules for controlling time and space) as equally important as curriculum's written goals and contents. Because hidden curricula may have the strongest effect in the implementation of the daily routine (Apple, 1992; Kroflic, 2005), we loosened past ideological influences on the kindergarten practice and centered our curricula on preschool teachers' awareness of the importance of hidden curricula elements in the implementation of daily routine. Results (N = 331) of a research, part of a project called "Professional training of educational staff for implementing special educational principles of Reggio Emilia concept in the field of preschool education in the years 2008-2013", done in years 2009 and 2011, show that there have been some changes in the planning of daily routine. The biggest shift in the implementation of the daily routine was made in so-called "toilet training" and care for personal hygiene. Research results also show that there are some changes in the implementation of nap time or sleeping, which according to the Curriculum for Kindergartens (1999) must not be mandatory for all children, and also in the implementation of focused activities and eating. For even better practice, there will have to be more continuing education and training for professional workers in education with the goal of developing additional competences for recognizing the elements of hidden curricula and implementing a child's active and supportive process of care and education. (Contains 6 tables.)

This paper presents the goals of teacher-parent cooperation, various potential models for establishing mutual cooperation, and the conditions required to achieve quality interactive cooperation. The partnership model is highlighted as an optimal model of interactive cooperation between teachers and parents, as it includes the distribution of expertise and control with the purpose of ensuring optimal education for children. It enables the creation of an interactive working relationship in which all of those involved are respected and recognised in their efforts to achieve common goals. The second part presents the findings of an empirical study carried out on a representative sample of Slovene primary schools. Teachers (N = 467) and parents (N = 1,690) were asked to express their opinions about the need for mutual cooperation, their view of each other when fulfilling their respective roles, and where they perceive the main obstacles to mutual cooperation. It became evident that teachers and parents have doubts about each other's competence. This does not form a solid base on which to establish and build the necessary partner relationship, and along with it mutual cooperation. Yet both groups to a large extent agree that teacher-parent cooperation is both necessary and useful. This gives rise to the question as to how to ensure that schools adopt policies promoting opportunities for better understanding, for building quality mutual relations and for parents to become more actively involved.

Globalisation and social changes in Slovenia, especially the formation of an independent country, adoption of the new constitution and implementation of a multi-party political system have caused changes in the education system as well ("Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazevanju v Republiki Sloveniji," 1996, p. 5). Razdevsek Pucek (1997) indicated that a teacher's need for education and constant professional training has unquestionably risen in the period of curricular reform that is with the implementation of the nine-year primary education programme and after it. In the theoretical part of this paper, we will show some basic changes in primary education system that came with the curricular reform and the fact that every school reform is undoubtedly connected with teacher education and goes side by side with changes in contents and methods of teacher training. We are going to pay a special attention to the demands that have influenced the need for teacher education since the basic aim of the research was to determine the extent to which (if any at all) teachers of the first, the second and the third cycle felt the need for further education that is the additional professional training and to specify the possible differences. While comparing the methods of education of teachers in the first, the second and the third cycle, we have also considered their age and level of education. Additionally, we were interested in what the most common obstacles teachers face are when they are deciding for education (limited time, costs, conditions imposed by the institution and age) and what the motives that influence their decisions for education are (promotion at workplace, desire for personal growth, level of education and need for knowledge). The research includes a non-random pattern of teachers in two primary schools in the municipality of Maribor. We used a descriptive and non-experimental causal method of empirical pedagogical research. (Contains 8 tables and 6 footnotes.)

In this paper we describe a peer mentoring program for new elementary school head teachers in Slovenia. First, the results of a preliminary needs assessment are reported, and the dissonance between new head teacher expectations and the realities of their work are described. We then present an overview of the two cross-cutting themes that emerged, and conclude with a discussion of the need to integrate both theoretical and practical aspects of school administration into a mentoring program.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the main factors influencing the adoption and continuous utilization of statistical software among university social sciences students in Slovenia. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a conceptual model was derived where five external variables were taken into account: statistical software self-efficacy, computer attitude, statistics anxiety, statistics learning self-efficacy, and statistics learning value. The model was applied to the purposive sample of 387 university social sciences students in Slovenia who have been introduced to IBM SPSS Statistics during statistics courses. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicated that all external variables considered in the model directly or indirectly affect the behavioural intention to use statistical software and are therefore relevant for our study. The most influential factors are found to be statistics anxiety and statistics learning value. The latter one plays a central role in our extended TAM, as its impact is stronger when compared with other external variables. The findings from our empirical study are useful for statistics educators. The recommendations proposed can improve the educational process in order to strengthen students' attitudes towards statistics and to decrease the level of statistics anxiety.

This paper presents the main findings of an action-research study that took place in seven European countries in order to develop effective educational responses to prevent and combat discrimination. The study entailed the design of media and citizenship education activities, their implementation in the different educational contexts and the evaluation of their effectiveness in raising young people's awareness of discrimination. The results of the study shed light both on the advantages and constraints of educational practice, variations that often depend on the specific cultural and social context. On the one hand, the analysis and the evaluation of educational experiences suggest that critical media literacy can enable the development of critical reading/viewing skills as well as acts of participatory and inclusive citizenship that question derogative and essentialist media representations of the Other. On the other hand, the results highlight the difficulty of promoting young people's awareness of discrimination through active methods of teaching and learning or through media content which is far from young people's experience, interests and concerns.

Education has traditionally focused primarily on content and cognitive goals. While content knowledge is important, to enter to the labour market today, graduates must also develop manual skills and technical literacy. The paper deals with engineering and technology education in Slovenia. It portrays the problem of the decline in interest in technical studies, seeks reasons behind this and advances proposals for improving the situation. The main goal of our research is the wish to identify and explore potential epistemological obstacles to a better appreciation of STEM education among lower secondary school students,and to offer solutions to the problem. The results of the study showed that practical and hands-on activities are, to a large extent, lacking in lower secondary education in Slovenia. The findings call for redesigned curricula and reform of teacher education towards more practically oriented and inspiring teaching.

Research on effects of home computer use on children's development of cognitive abilities and skills has yielded conflicting results, with some studies showing positive effects, others no effects, and yet others negative effects. These studies have typically used non-experimental designs and one of the main reasons for the conflicting results is that studies differ with respect to how well they control for selection bias in comparisons of children with different amounts of computer use. The current study takes advantage of data from international comparative studies of educational achievement and uses the trend design of these studies to conduct longitudinal analyses at the country level. This allows for a difference in differences approach which effectively controls for within-country selection bias, time-invariant country-level omitted variables, and random errors of measurement in the independent and dependent variables. The empirical investigations are based on data from the IEA 10-Year Trend Study and the PIRLS 2001 and 2006 studies. For these studies, information about frequency of home computer use is available in the student questionnaire. The main analytical approach employed in the paper is regression estimation based on micro-data, with fixed country effects and cluster-robust standard-errors. This approach allows estimation of main effects of home computer use and interaction effects with student characteristics (gender and socio-economic status). For both data sets negative effects of home computer use on achievement are found. Results are discussed in substantive and methodological terms, focusing particularly on possible threats to valid causal inference, such as omitted variables that are not time invariant.

In modern pedagogical processes various teaching methods and approaches (elements of the pedagogical process -- EPPs) are used ranging from traditional ones (e.g., lectures, books) to more recent ones (e.g., e-discussion boards, e-quizzes). Different models for evaluation of the appropriateness of EPPs have been proposed in the past. However, the literature shows that these models typically focus only on the appropriateness of a single EPP and do not provide information about its relative appropriateness in relation to other EPPs. Unfortunately, this considerably limits the use of such evaluation models for the needs of the educational institutions' management. In order to decide which EPPs to promote or modify, management requires a comparative overview of the appropriateness of all EPPs that are part of the pedagogical process under consideration. Therefore the goal of our study was to design a model which would facilitate a comparative evaluation of many e-learning and traditional EPPs by simultaneously considering perspectives of students' and teachers' who participate in a certain pedagogical process. We applied the proposed model to three real-life pedagogical processes that are presented in this paper. Three groups of students, their teachers, and the college's management participated in the study. The management confirmed that the evaluation model provided them with valuable information in order to plan actions for improvement of the pedagogical processes.

A total of 448 first-year university students participated in the study at the beginning of the academic year 2009/10. A paper-pencil liquid crystal questionnaire (LCQ) comprising 20 items was used to evaluate students' general conceptions related to liquid crystals, their properties and to the state of matter in general. The results show that 2/3 of students are not familiar with liquid crystals at all, and the conceptions about liquid crystals of the remaining 1/3 of students are very weak. Students achieved on average only 1.5 points (19% success) out of 8 on the items testing their conception about liquid crystals. The students' achievements in the LCQ depend on their gender, their self-assessed knowledge on liquid crystals and on their field of study. Based on the results of the LCQ, learning units were developed to stimulate students' knowledge development about liquid crystals. The learning units in which students learn about liquid crystals synthesis (chemical aspects) and properties (physical aspects) were put in the framework of everyday life. (Contains 3 figures.)

This paper is based on the PraC-MARENG project research and it aims to present the research outputs during the project implementation. The paper focuses on the results of the questionnaire analysis targeting to identify the causes of common communication problems on board in order to identify the best practices in using Maritime English. It contains a set of questions addressed to the seafarers in various ranks. In parallel, accidents caused by communication failures were selected and studied in each partner country (France, Turkey, Romania, Lithuania, and Slovenia). The partnership within PraC-MARENG will develop an online course for seafarers at various levels in order to provide practical and communication based learning and assessment materials taking into account the real conversations and accidents contributed by communication failures. The project will design a practical learning and assessment tool that provides the user with a genuine certificate for the newly acquired skills. This will be presented in a programme having a tailor made course. The learning will be organized on different phases (elementary to intermediate) to train seafarers working on different levels of command. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The training of peer supporters is critical because the success of the entire peer support intervention depends on the knowledge and experience that peer supporters can share with other patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pilot implementation of a specialist nurse-led self-management training programme for peer supporters with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with or without comorbid hypertension (HTN) at the primary healthcare level in Slovenia, in terms of feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness. Methods: A prospective pre-post interventional pilot study was conducted in two Community Health Centres (CHC) in Slovenia from May 2021 to August 2022. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit approximately 40 eligible volunteers to become trained peer supporters. A specialist nurse-led structured training lasting 15 h over a 2-month period was delivered, comprising four group and two individual sessions. The comprehensive curriculum was based on interactive verbal and visual learning experience, utilising the Diabetes Conversation Maps™. Data were collected from medical records, by clinical measurements, and using questionnaires on sociodemographic and clinical data, the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, knowledge of T2DM and HTN, and the Appraisal of Diabetes Scale, and evaluation forms. Results: Of the 36 participants, 31 became trained peer supporters (retention rate of 86.1%). Among them, 21 (67.7%) were women, with a mean age of 63.9 years (SD 8.9). The training was evaluated as satisfactory and highly acceptable. There was a significant improvement in knowledge of T2DM (p < 0.001) and HTN (p = 0.024) among peer supporters compared to baseline. Six months post-training, there was no significant improvement in the quality of life (p = 0.066), but there was a significant decrease in body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.020) from 30.4 (SD 6.2) at baseline to 29.8 (SD 6.2). Conclusion: The pilot implementation of a specialist nurse-led self-management training for peer supporters was found to be feasible, acceptable, and effective (in the study group). It led to improvements in knowledge, maintained disease control, and promoted positive self-management behaviours among peer supporters, as evidenced by a decrease in their BMI over six months. The study emphasises the need for effective recruitment, training, and retention strategies. Trial registration: The research is part of the international research project SCUBY: Scale up diabetes and hypertension care for vulnerable people in Cambodia, Slovenia and Belgium, which is registered in ISRCTN registry (https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN41932064). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fast and well-organized complex diagnostic process is important for better success in the treatment of lung cancer patients. The aim of our study was to reveal the gaps and inefficiencies in the diagnostic process and to suggest improvement strategies in a single tertiary centre in Slovenia. We employed a comprehensive approach to carefully dissect all the steps in the diagnostic journey for individuals suspected of having lung cancer. We gathered and analysed information from employees and patients involved in the process by dedicated questionnaires. Further, we analysed the patients' data and calculated the diagnostic intervals for patients in two different periods. The major concerns among employees were stress and excessive administrative work. The important result of the visual journey and staff reports was the design of electronic diagnostic clinical pathway (eDCP), which could substantially increase safety and efficacy by diminishing the administrative burden of the employees. The patients were generally highly satisfied with diagnostic journey, but reported too long waiting times. By analysing two time periods, we revealed that diagnostic intervals exceeded the recommended timelines and got importantly shorter after two interventions - strengthening the diagnostic team and specially by purchase of additional PET-CT machine (the average time from general practitioner (GP) referral to the multidisciplinary treatment board (MDTB) decision was 50.8 [± 3.0] prior and 37.1 [± 2.3] days after the interventions). The study illuminated opportunities for refining the diagnostic journey for lung cancer patients, underscoring the importance of both administrative and capacity-related enhancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, family physicians (FPs) served as the the initial point of contact for patients potentially infected with the virus, necessitating frequent updates to treatment protocols. However, practices also faced organizational challenges in providing care to other patients who also needed their medical attention. The pressure on FPs increased and affected their well-being. The international PRICOV-19 study, titled "Primary care in times of COVID-19 pandemic," investigated how FPs functioned during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This article examines the correlation between various organizational and structural COVID-19-related variables and the well-being of FPs in Slovenia. Methods: Between October 2020 and January 2021, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey. The questionnaire was distributed to 1040 Slovenian FPs and 218 family medicine (FM) trainees. Part of the questionnaire assessed the cooperation and well-being of FPs. The Mayo Clinic Well-being Index was used for the assessment. FP's well-being was also assessed descriptively by asking open-ended questions about maintaining mental health during the pandemic. Potential factors associated with FPs' well-being were identified using a multivariate linear regression method. Results: The final sample comprised 191 participants (response rate 14.1%). The mean value ± standard deviation of the Mayo Well-being Index was 3.3 ± 2.6 points. The FPs with the poorest well-being had 5–15 years of work experience and worked in a practice where work could not be distributed in the absence of a co-worker without compromising the well-being of colleagues. Physical activity was identified as the most common method of maintaining mental health among FPs. Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that targeted interventions are needed to support FPs mid-career, increase resilience in practice, promote strong team dynamics, and prioritise physical activity in healthcare. Addressing these aspects can contribute to the well-being of individual FPs and the overall health of the healthcare workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper is to develop a consistent measure of the entrepreneurs’ personal network multiplexity and to analyse its relationship to firm growth. The research goals were achieved with a quantitative approach. The data were collected with a structured questionnaire delivered to micro and small firms in Slovenia. The research results confirmed the multidimensionality of the network multiplexity concept and showed that it may influence firm growth. Entrepreneurs’ personal networks represent an important form of support during the entrepreneurial process, therefore they need to be efficiently and carefully managed by entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim: This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge and practice of intramuscular injection among nurses and nursing assistants in primary healthcare. Background: Evidence-based guidelines recommend the use of the ventrogluteal site for intramuscular injection; however, it remains infrequently utilised by nurses. Study design and methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sample of 200 nurses and nursing assistants employed in one of the largest healthcare centres on the primary healthcare level in Slovenia. The data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The majority of the participants (88.5%) prefer to use the dorsogluteal site for intramuscular injections, while the ventrogluteal site is commonly used only by 7.5% of the respondents. Participants avoid the ventrogluteal site because of not being used to it (30.5%), unfamiliarity (27.0%), lack of adequate knowledge (19.5%), fear of harming the patient (8.5%), and not knowing how to determine the site (10.3%). Conclusion: Nursing staffs knowledge and use of ventrogluteal site for intramuscular injection is limited and are using traditional methods instead of current evidence-based guidelines. Implications: Improvements are needed in nursing education and continuous training. The nurse administrators in clinical practice should increase awareness of the benefits of using evidencebased practice and re-evaluate how the nursing professionals provide the administration of intramuscular injections and the need for additional education. The education and training about intramuscular injections should be implemented regularly in daily clinical practice of nursing professionals for promoting the safest practice for patients. What is already known about the topic? • The administration of intramuscular injections is a commonly performed nursing intervention in clinical practice. • The technique for delivering intramuscular injection is associated with potential safety risks for the patient when it is not done according to evidencebased guidelines and safe practices. • The use of ventrogluteal muscle has been recommended in nursing literature for many years now, but nurses still use it infrequently and prefer to use the dorsogluteal site. What this paper adds: • Despite being both legally permitted to administer intramuscular injection, nurses and nursing assistants demonstrated different levels of knowledge and the use of evidence-based recommendations about intramuscular injection administration. • Nurses avoid using the ventrogluteal side due to lack of knowledge and skills. • Stronger emphasis on raising awareness about the importance of using evidence-based practices during nursing education and continuous training is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over the last decade, the inadequacy and unsustainability of current healthcare services for managing long-term co-morbid and multi-morbid diseases have become evident. Methods: This study, involving 426 adults with at least one non-communicable disease in Slovenia, aimed to explore the link between quality of life, life satisfaction, person-centred care, and non-communicable disease management. Results: Results indicated generally positive perceptions of quality of life, general health, and life satisfaction of individuals with non-communicable diseases. Participants assessed their physical health as the highest of the four quality of life domains, followed by the environment, social relations, and psychological health. Significant differences occurred in life satisfaction, general health, quality of life, and person-centred care for managing non-communicable diseases. But, there were no significant differences in person-centred care according to the living environment. The study revealed a positive association between person-centred care and effective non-communicable disease management, which is also positively associated with quality of life, general health, and life satisfaction. Conclusions: Person-centred care is currently the most compassionate and scientific practice conceived, representing a high ethical standard. However, implementing this approach in healthcare systems requires a cohesive national strategy led by capable individuals to foster stakeholder collaboration. Such an approach is crucial to address the deficiencies of existing healthcare services and ensure person-centred care sustainability in non-communicable disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A child's disability, long-term illness, or mental ill-health is known to affect siblings' health, social life, school engagement, and quality of life. This article addresses a research gap by its focus on young sibling carers and the impact of providing care to a sibling. A cross-national survey study was conducted in 2018–2019 (Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK) to examine the incidence of adolescent sibling carers, the extent of care they provide, and their self-reported health, well-being, and school situation. The survey was completed by 7146 adolescents, aged 15–17, and 1444 of them provided care to family members with health-related conditions. Out of these, 286 were identified as Sibling Carers and 668 as Parent Carers, while 181 had both sibling(s) and parent(s) with health-related conditions, and thus were identified as Sibling–Parent Carers. Sibling Carers and Sibling–Parent Carers carried out higher levels of caring activities compared to Parent Carers. They reported both positive aspects of caring, such as increased maturity, and negative aspects, such as mental ill-health, impact on schooling and a lack of support. To reduce the negative aspects of a sibling carer role, it is important to recognise them and to implement early preventive measures and formal support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensation seeking (SS) is a psychobiological personality trait characterized by an individual's propensity to engage in various forms of risk-taking behavior. The Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS-8) is a widely used instrument for assessing SS that has been translated into several languages. However, only outdated and non-validated questionnaires have been used to measure SS in the Slovenian population. The aim of this study was to translate and psychometrically validate the Slovenian version of the BSSS-8. A total of 363 participants aged between 14 and 65 years completed the translated BSSS-8 and the questionnaire on drug abuse. The scale demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.81 ) and a unidimensional factorial structure as revealed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The multigroup CFA showed gender-specific measurement invariance. In the nomological network, SS was positively associated with drug-related variables. The Slovenian version of the BSSS-8 scale is a short and simple instrument to assess SS for research and epidemiological purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the entrepreneurship knowledge construct with its dimensions and its signfficance for the firm performance via a model. This research attempts to comprehensively examine the criteria for measuring entrepreneurial knowledge performance outcomes in small and medium enterprises. To date no studies developed a set of widely accepted measurement criteria associated to entrepreneur knowledge and firm performance: This paper, therefore, aims to fill the gap. Design/methodology/approach - Existing studies on entrepreneurial knowledge were reviewed and their limitations were identified. Mailed structured questionnaire data for this study were collected from SME in Slovenia (168 usable responses). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modelling was used to estimate the model. Findings - The model hypothesis on the relationship among entrepreneurial knowledge and performancewere mainly supported, thus reflecting the positive effect of ehtrepreneurial knowledge and all its dimensions on SME performance. Research limitations/implications - The study is limited to Slovenian SE, but can be generalised to other regons. Practical implications - Entrepreneurial knowledge can have beneficial effects on the firm's growth and profitability. The findings can be used to guide entrepreneur in developing different dimensions of knowledge. Originality/value - This study proved latent elements of entrepreneurial knowledge model. It gives valuable information, which hopefully will help SMEs to respect more the Meaning of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to look at the authors' own definition of systems thinking, which is applied to investigate management concepts. These are the most influential management concepts in Slovenia, a new EU member. Design/methodology/approach - Between 1999 and 2003 a letter survey was used in Slovenian organisations. In 1999 about 300 organisations and in 2003 more than 400 were addressed. The authors tested their questionnaire on a pilot sample of organisations, all items being closed qualitative questions. Data from questionnaire were entered into Lotus Notes database and from it into excel and SPSS for a statistical analysis. The management concepts were analysed by the factor and discriminatory analysis. Both of them enabled the authors to comprehend innovation of management concepts in the Slovenian economy. Findings - Management innovation is the crucial precondition for innovation management, where innovation has not yet become the prevailing culture. Practical implications - In Slovenia, the authors came across no research on this topic, theoretical and applied at the same time. The governmental support gives the research a broader societal importance and a chance of a rather active impact over transition in Slovenian economy. Originality/value - This paper offers broader possibilities for researchers and business people in order to better understand different management concepts and differences among them. This will help the reader to make better judgements while deciding to introduce the appropriate one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current measures for monitoring progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) do not adequately account for populations that do not have the same level of access to quality care services and/or financial protection to cover health expenses for when care is accessed. This gap in accounting for unmet health care needs may contribute to underutilization of needed services or widening inequalities. Asking people whether or not their needs for health care have been met, as part of a household survey, is a pragmatic way of capturing this information. This analysis examined responses to self-reported questions about unmet need asked as part of 17 health, social and economic surveys conducted between 2001 and 2019, representing 83 low-, middle- and high-income countries. Noting the large variation in questions and response categories, the results point to low levels (less than 2%) of unmet need reported in adults aged 60+ years in countries like Andorra, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Thailand and Viet Nam to rates of over 50% in Georgia, Haiti, Morocco, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. While unique, these estimates are likely underestimates, and do not begin to address issues of poor quality of care as a barrier or contributing to unmet need in those who were able to access care. Monitoring progress towards UHC will need to incorporate estimates of unmet need if we are to reach universality and reduce health inequalities in older populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High grade gliomas are associated with cognitive problems. The aim of the study was to investigate cognitive functioning in a cohort of patients with high grade glioma, according to isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) and methyl guanine methyl transferase (MGMT) status and other clinical characteristics. The patients with the high-grade glioma treated in Slovenia in given period of time were included in study. Postoperatively they completed neuropsychological assessment consisting of Slovenian Verbal Learning Test, Slovenian Controlled Oral Word Association Test, Trail Making Test Part A and B and self-evaluation questionnaire. We analysed results (z-scores and dichotomized results) also according to IDH mutation and MGMT methylation. We examined differences between groups using T-test, Mann-Whitney U, χ2 and Kendall's Tau tests. Out of 275 patients in the cohort, we included 90. Forty-six percent of patients were unable to participate due to poor performance status and other conditions related to tumour. Patients with the IDH mutation were younger, with better performance status, larger proportions of grade III tumours and MGMT methylation. In this group cognitive functioning is significantly better in the domains of immediate recall, short delayed recall and delayed recall, and in the fields of executive functioning and recognition. There were no differences in cognitive functioning in regard to MGMT status. Grade III tumours were associated with more frequent MGMT methylation. Self-assessment proved week tool, associated only with immediate recall. We found no differences in cognitive functioning according to MGMT status, but cognition was better when IDH mutation was present. In a cohort study of patients with high-grade glioma, almost half were unable to participate in a study, which points to an overrepresentation of patients with better cognitive functioning in the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to identify changes in quality of life after breast cancer treatment and compare them with the normative population data for the Slovenian population. A prospective, single-group, cohort design was used. A total of 102 early breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana were included. Of those, 71% returned the questionnaires after one-year post-chemotherapy. The Slovenian versions of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ C30 and BR23 questionnaires were used. Primary outcomes were a comparison of global health status/quality of life (GHS) and C30 Summary Score (C30-SumSc) at baseline and one-year post-chemotherapy with the normative Slovenian population. The exploratory analysis evaluated the differences in symptoms and functional scales of QLQ C-30 and QLQ BR-23 between baseline and one-year post-chemotherapy. At baseline and one-year post-chemotherapy, C30-SumSc of patients was lower than the predicted C30-SumSc from the normative Slovenian population by 2.6 points (p = 0.04) and 6.5 points (p < 0.001), resp. On the contrary, GHS was not statistically different from predicted either at baseline or after one year. Exploratory analysis revealed that one-year post-chemotherapy compared to the beginning of chemotherapy, patients had statistically significantly and clinically meaningful lower scores in body image and cognitive functioning, and increased symptom scores for pain, fatigue, and arm symptoms. The C30-SumSc is reduced one-year post-chemotherapy. Early interventions should be directed toward the prevention of the decline of cognitive functioning and body image, and to alleviate fatigue, pain, and arm symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring corporate security is an essential and critical component of any healthcare facility to provide safe services to its patients and employees. Healthcare facilities must employ a variety of strategies to ensure corporate security. This includes developing a comprehensive communication plan that defines the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders. The objective of our study was to present the concept of corporate security in healthcare institutions and in the Slovenian healthcare system, to highlight current threats in healthcare institutions in Slovenia, to describe the importance of strategic communication of corporate security in healthcare, and finally to define the current state of corporate security in Slovenian healthcare institutions in Slovenia. A survey was conducted and distributed to healthcare institutions in Slovenia to obtain results. A total of 154 healthcare stakeholders participated in our study. The results showed that corporate security is present in Slovenian healthcare facilities, but additional efforts are needed to improve it, especially considering the current challenges related to the measures taken after the COVID-19 epidemic and the shortage of healthcare personnel. The legal processes of corporate security in healthcare facilities comply with applicable laws and regulations to protect the interests of their patients and employees. Operational security processes are currently provided primarily by internal providers. There is a need for improvement, particularly in the training and education of staff, who play the most important role in ensuring safety. To effectively establish comprehensive corporate security, strategic communication with all stakeholders is essential to ensure that their security policies and procedures are properly implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to present Slovenian and Finnish prospective chemistry teachers' perceptions of their future profession, especially with regard to their understanding of the role of the triple nature of chemical concepts (macro, submicro and symbolic) and their representations in chemistry learning. A total of 19 prospective teachers (10 Slovenian, 9 Finnish) at master's level in chemical education participated in the research. The prospective teachers' opinions were gathered using an electronic questionnaire comprising six open-ended questions. The study revealed many parallels between Slovenian and Finnish prospective chemistry teachers' perceptions of their future profession and their understanding of the role of the triple nature of chemical concepts, especially particle representations, in chemistry learning. The majority of the prospective teachers from both countries believe that personal characteristics are the most important attribute of a successful chemistry teacher. Thus, they highly value teachers' enthusiasm for teaching and the use of contemporary teaching approaches in chemistry. The prospective teachers displayed an adequate understanding of the role of the triple nature of chemical concepts (i.e., particle representations) in the planning and implementation of a specific chemistry lesson. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A holistic and prevention-oriented health care system relies, among other things, on educational institutions that prepare future professionals for the various specialties. Previous research shows that working in primary health prevention is less attractive to students of health sciences. Objectives: The study examined the career interests of dietetics students, and the role of acquired skills, satisfaction with their studies, and length of study on these interests. Methods: Three scales measuring self-assessed competencies, satisfaction with studies, and career interests were validated and used in the study on a sample (N = 123) of dietetics students in Slovenia. Reliability and dimensional structure analyses of the scales, descriptive statistics, and linear regression analyses were performed. Results: Students were primarily interested in becoming public health dietitians and showed little interest in the work of an administrative dietitian. Self-assessed competencies, satisfaction with the programme, and length of study explained a moderate amount of the variance in career aspirations for work as a clinical dietitian and for research in dietetics. However, the factors studied did not explain career preferences for administration or public health dietitian. Conclusions: The study shows that preferences and interests for different occupational subfields in dietetics are determined by different factors and that a general predictive model is not a valid approach for studying preferences and interests for work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Literature defines different types of flexibility and security with regard to work. Regardless of which type of flexibility or security is discussed, the consequences for individuals, organizations or employers and society are significant. Purpose: The purpose of the research was to compare and analyse the correlation between the different types of flexibility and security in work and organizational efficiency. Methodology: Data was gathered using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method. A link to an online questionnaire was e-mailed to randomly selected organisations across all economic sectors in Slovenia that had a published e-mail address, either in business directories or on a company website. We asked them to forward our e-mail to their employees. The correlation between different variables was used for data analysis. Results: The results of our research show that there is a low positive level of correlation between different types of flexibility and security in the context of work and also between different types of flexibility in work and organizational efficiency. The correlation between different types of security in work and organizational efficiency is positive and medium strong. Conclusion: It is recommended that the legislators be aware of the importance of their correlation with organizational efficiency when preparing legislative amendments regarding introduction of the flexibility and security in the field of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical registries are designed to collect quality data about the care for cancer patients in order to improve it. They gather data that are generated during diagnosis and cancer treatment and also post-treatment follow-up. Analysis of collected data allows an improvement in the quality of patient care and a comparison with other health care providers. The aim of the present article is to describe the current version and practice of hospital-based cervical cancer registry in UKC Maribor. The first questionnaire for monitoring patients with cervical cancer was introduced at the Department of Gynecologic and Breast Oncology of the Maribor General Hospital in 1994. Since then, the principles for treating cervical cancer have been revised on several occasions. Therefore, based on our experience and new approaches to treatment, we have frequently amended the questionnaire content. It was redesigned into a form that is currently in use and transformed into a Cervix-Online computer program in 2014. Over the last 27 years, we have collected data on cervical cancer patients treated at the University Medical Centre Maribor and former Maribor General Hospital. The Cervix-Online computer program that was developed for this purpose enabled a rapid and reliable collection, processing and analysis of 116 different data of patients with cervical cancer, including general data, history, diagnostic procedures, histopathological examination results, treatment methods, and post-treatment follow-ups. The hospital-based cervical cancer registry with Cervix-Online computer program enables the collection of data to enhance diagnosis and the treatment of cervical cancer patients, the organization of day-to-day service, as well as the comparison of our treatment results with national and international standards. Incomplete or incorrect data entry, however, might pose a limitation of the clinical registry, which depends on several healthcare professionals involved in the diagnostic procedures, treatment, and follow-up of cervical cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Failure of weight-loss programs is high. We evaluated a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle program. We investigated the obesity indices of 151 healthy adults who were on our ongoing, community-based program for the short (0.5 to ≤2 years), medium (2 to ≤5 years), or long term (5 to 10 years). Body composition indices were measured by medically approved bioimpedance. Body composition changes were favorable for all 3 groups and both genders. There were no differences in body composition between the males for all 3 groups, while there were lower body mass (BM), body mass index (BMI), and muscle mass in females on long-term versus short-term programs. All participants experienced a decrease in BMI (−2.5 kg/m2), BM (−7.1 kg), and body fat percentage (−6.4%; P <.001 for all). The reductions for those with a baseline BMI of obese, overweight, and normal were −5.6, −2.4, and −0.9 kg/m2 for BMI, −16.1, −7.1, and −2.5 kg for total BM, and −9.5%, −6.6%, and −4.8% for body fat percentage (baseline vs current; P <.001 for all). A total of 86% of parents of underage children introduced the WFPB lifestyle to children. Our WFPB lifestyle program provides a long-term reversal of obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine the conflict resolution styles used in the physician–nurse teamwork in primary health care, depending on individual characteristics, contextual factors, and organizational and sociocultural contexts. Background: Conflicts significantly affect the quality of healthcare services and staffing challenges, and consequently the performance and efficiency of organizations. Their management plays an important role in any healthcare organizations and deserves the attention of researcher's healthcare management and team leaders. Design: A descriptive, cross‐sectional, correlational design. Method: Thomas–Kilmann Conflict MODE Instrument was used on a sample comprising 173 nurses and 125 physicians working in teams at the Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2018. Results: The most predominant conflict resolution styles were compromising and avoiding, followed by accommodating, collaborating and competing. The predominant resolution style among nurses was avoiding, and among physicians was compromising. There were statistically significant differences in the conflict resolution style according to gender (χ2 (1) = 0.035, p <.059), education (χ2 (1) = 0.014, p <.05) and tenure (χ2 (1) = 0.025, p <.05). Conclusion: Our research results differed from those of other studies, possibly due to the difference in the sample and research setting. They indicated that the specifics of work and situation significantly moderate conflict in healthcare organizations. Impact: The established divergence of results indicates the need for future research on conflict in healthcare settings to more consistently consider the situational context and the role of management and/or leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]