Activities In Croatia Research Articles

O.4.4-10 Policy and environmental correlates of physical activity in Croatia

Abstract Purpose Although there are several studies that have determined the correlates of physical activity in the Republic of Croatia, policy and environmental correlates are still unknown. Therefore, we conducted a study with the main goal to examine associations of sport and exercise participation with perception of policy and environmental factors in Croatia, including opportunities for engaging in physical activities, the sports clubs offer, and level of the support from local authorities. Methods The study was conducted on 1031 randomly selected Croatian citizens using questionnaire containing questions about sport and exercise, participation, engagement opportunities for physical activities, the sports clubs’ and other service providers’ offer and level of the support from local authorities. In the multivariate logistic regression, participation in sports and exercise was the dependent variable, and the independent variables were perception of opportunities for physical activity, perception of local sports clubs’ and other service providers’ offer, and perception of local government support for physical activity. Results According to the findings of the logistic regression analysis, local sports clubs’ and other service providers’ offer as well as government support were identified as significant predictors of engagement in sport and exercise. To be specific, individuals who perceive their local sports clubs and other service providers as providing a greater range of opportunities, as well as those who feel that their local government supports physical activity, are more inclined to engage in sports and exercise activities. (p < 0.05). Conclusion Future strategies aimed to motivate citizens to engage in sports and exercise should be based on encouraging local authorities to collaborate with sports clubs and other service providers to create an enabling environment that supports physical activity participation. This could include providing funding and resources to sports clubs and service providers to enable them to offer a wider range of opportunities that cater to the diverse interests and needs of individuals in the community. Funding This work was supported by the Erasmus the “Creating Mechanisms for Continuous Implementation of the Sports Club for Health Guidelines in the European Union” (SCforH 2020-22) project, funded by the Erasmus+ Collaborative Partnerships grant (ref: 613434-EPP-1-2019-1-HR-8 SPO-SCP).

Application of Successful EU Funds Absorption Models to Sustainable Regional Development

The research paper comprehensively and consistently addresses all relevant theoretical areas related to the topic and includes an extensive empirical analysis of the absorption of EU funds and their impact on the sustainable development of Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Poland. The analysis aims to investigate the efficiency of the absorption of funds from the EU, the impact of these funds on regional development of countries, and the reasons for such impacts. The “Regional Development Model Based on EU Funds” was tested with the aim of applying the model to the Republic of Croatia, countries in the region, and other European countries, to achieve a higher level of absorption of financial resources from the available EU funds. Data for the empirical analysis were collected using a highly structured survey questionnaire completed by a sample of 244 respondents involved in the preparation and implementation of EU-funded projects. The contribution of economic science in theoretical terms arises from the development of scientific knowledge and ideas about the importance of increasing the number of development projects that will increase the absorption of funds from the European Union, thereby increasing economic activities in Croatia and the region. The expected contribution of economic science in the applied sense is based on the formulation of the “Regional Development Model Based on EU Funds”, which is based on the application of knowledge, good practices, and stakeholder experiences, considering relevant indicators from available sources. The greatest contribution is demonstrated through testing the “Regional Development Model Based on EU Funds”, which is applicable to the Republic of Croatia, countries in the region, and other European countries over a longer period. Finally, research into the impact of EU funds on the regional development of recipient countries is considerably less represented and very modest, and is only in the “upswing” of systematic scientific research. The research aims to fill the gaps in research and to encourage the thinking of key stakeholders responsible for regional development, who should eventually realize the importance of defining a regional policy aimed at EU funds as a key to regional development and reducing regional disparities within countries.

Post-Earthquake Dynamic Performance of Intact Masonry Building Based on Finite Element Model Updating

The recent seismic activity in Croatia has inflicted significant damage upon numerous buildings, with masonry structures being particularly affected. Consequently, experimental investigations and structural condition assessments’ have garnered increased attention, as they have become integral to the renovation process for such buildings. Additionally, assessing the structural condition prior to seismic events is vital for determining the extent to which earthquakes impact the stiffness of systems, such as masonry structures. This paper presents the results of experimental investigations and numerical analysis conducted on a damaged high school building in Sisak, Croatia. The experimental investigation involved shear testing, flat jack analysis, and operational modal analysis. Utilizing the available drawings and mechanical properties determined experimentally, an initial numerical model was developed. Subsequently, through the iterative process of finite element model updating, the initial numerical model was refined based on the structural dynamic properties. The updated numerical model was then employed to assess the structural condition prior to the earthquake event. This study contributes to the field by providing insights into the post-earthquake estimation of dynamic properties in intact masonry buildings, utilizing a comprehensive approach that combines experimental investigations and finite element model updating. By quantifying the changes in dynamic parameters, such as natural frequencies and mode shapes, the study provides valuable insights into the response characteristics of damaged masonry building. The observed differences in natural frequencies between the damaged and undamaged states are as follows: 9% for the first mode shape, 6% for the second mode shape, and 2% for the third mode shape.

Prototyping and Integration of Educational Low-Cost Mobile Robot Platform

This paper describes the process of designing and prototyping a low-cost robotic platform based on existing equipment and projects that enable extracurricular STEM activities in Croatia and beyond. A robotic platform with a differential drive configuration was chosen for education from an early age due to its simplicity and a wide range of cheap and compatible components from which it can be made. From the aspect of integration into extracurricular or curricular activities, the BBC micro:bit ecosystem was considered, enabling block-based visual programming. Components with printable parts make up the assembly of the educational robot. The main steps in designing and creating a robot prototype are presented, which consist of the modelling, 3D printing of robot parts, and assembly into a functional system. After several stages of testing, an interactive workshop was held with 7th-grade primary school pupils. Further work is planned to create educational material for extracurricular STEM workshops.

Is sport and exercise participation related to the environmental and policy factors of physical activity in Croatia?

Physical activity is a complex behaviour influenced by individual, social, environmental, and policy factors. Understanding these factors of specific populations is a prerequisite for effective public health interventions. The main aim of this study was to determine the relationship between participation in sports, exercise, and other physical activities and the perception of environmental and policy correlates of physical activity in Croatia. The sample consisted of 1031 randomly selected Croatian citizens and data were collected within the “Special Eurobarometer 472” using questions about: a) participation in sport, exercise, and other physical activities and b) the environmental and policy factors of physical activity including opportunities for engaging in physical activities, the offer of sports clubs, and level of the support from local authorities. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that people who perceived their local sports clubs and other service providers as offering more opportunities and those who felt that their local government supported physical activity were more likely to be actively involved in sports and exercise (p<.05 for all). Furthermore, the perception of greater opportunities for physical activity in the local environment is associated with increased involvement in recreational physical activities that are not related to sports (p<.05). Future strategies aiming at encouraging citizens to engage in sports and exercise should be based on strengthening cooperation between local authorities and local sports clubs, while the promotion of other physical activities should incorporate providing adequate infrastructure for engaging in physical activities and informing citizens about the provided opportunities.

Guidelines for the Future of Evangelical Christianity in Croatia

The article discusses the future of evangelical Christianity in Croatia. Together with analyzing the existing spiritual state, the author offers five key guidelines. He believes that their application in the everyday life of believers and churches of the Reformation heritage can accomplish the future God has prepared, and which he empowers and determines. For a biblically fruitful and God-pleasing future, local church and denomination leadership should adopt biblical guidelines and as soon as possible begin the appropriate processes to include God’s creative activity in Croatia: 1) perspective on life; 2) God’s authority in the life of a believer and the church; 3) discipleship that manifests itself in service; 4) training spiritual leaders on all levels of service to God; 5) efficient leadership system. Together with every guideline, the author suggests and explains processes belonging to it. Thinking about the future of evangelical Christianity in Croatia is focused on the consideration of God’s Word in the context of spiritual, social, and cultural reality in which evangelical Christians live and co-create with God.

P06-02 Physical activity levels of citizens in Dubrovnik, Croatia

BackgroundOne of the most important areas of interest in the world today and throughout history is health. Numerous investigations are confirming positive effects of physical activity on health and this is the reason why physical activity and exercise should be measured as often as possible. Croatia as the youngest member state in European Union does not have excellent results in the levels of physical activity among its population. In this research the aim was to assess the levels of physical activity in the city of Dubrovnik and compare it to the levels of Physical activity in Croatia and European Union.MethodsParticipants in this investigation were 670 adult citizens of the City of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Levels of physical activity was measured using Eurobarometer questionnaire. Descriptive statistical parameters Mean and Standard deviation same as Statistical Difference between the values in Dubrovnik, Croatia and European Union were calculated using statistical program package Statistica.ResultsOverall results show significantly better situation in Dubrovnik when comparing with the results measured on national level and on European Union level. While, according to the Eurostat's analysis in 2017, there is 46% of citizens of European Union and even 56% of citizens in Croatia that never exercise or play sports in the City of Dubrovnik there is only 17,31% of citizens that never exercise or doing sports. The most important reasons for doing physical exercise or sport (motivators) among citizens of Dubrovnik is improvement of health (45%) and improvement of physical appearance (30%). Almost half of the sample (47%) pointed out the lack of time as the main barrier in doing physical exercise or sport.ConclusionsThis investigation shows good way to assess the information on levels of physical activity of the citizens and accordingly creating a public policy on further development and improvement of this important area. This investigation is part of document called Strategic development of Sport and Sport's Infrastructure in Dubrovnik and it reveals encouraging data for this Croatian city.

First Experience in Monitoring of Line Surge Arresters Installed on 110 kV Transmission Line Ston – Komolac in Croatia

In paper are presented some first results and experience in real time monitoring of line surge arresters installed on 110 kV transmission line Ston – Komolac in southern part of Croatia. Mentioned line is the first line in Croatian transmission network equipped with line surge arresters (LSA). The line with its length of 43,95 km is situated in region with high soil resistance, exposed to one of the highest level of lightning activity in Croatia. At the same time it is the most important line in connecting HPP Dubrovnik (240 MVA) to the main part of 110 kV transmission network. Due to all mentioned reasons and great number of annual outages, it was decided to equip the line with LSA for improving the lightning performance and the availability of line. As result of performed numerical simulations on simulation line model it was decided to install 110 kV gapless, IEC Class II line arresters. Also, to improve analysis of expected results the 61 line arresters were equipped with Excount-II type of monitoring sensors. The main goal was to determine the behaviour of line arresters arrangement across the line during overvoltage events on towers. This installed “realtime” monitoring system enables remote control and wireless exchange the collected data from local data logger installed on LSA. Line arresters activity is monitoring through numbers, date and time and level of surges and the condition state of LSA, through the measuring of leakage current. First results in application of LSA are showing significant reduction of line outages with registered relatively strong activity of monitored line arresters. Also, as it was expected some particular part of line is espied to be exposed to higher frequency and higher level of registered arresters surge current. During collecting the data of LSA activity, some practical problems were encountered with time synchronization between monitoring devices and it is mentioned and discussed in paper, too. Although the analysed time period of eight months with LSA application is too short to allow strong final conclusions, obtained first experience will be very helpful in assessment of further LSA application in Croatian transmission network.

Department of energy and power systems – 80 years of success in science, teaching and cooperation with industry

The Department of Energy and Power Systems of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb was founded in 1934 and celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2014. In its long history, many well-known experts, members of the Department, have left their mark on the power engineering activity in Croatia. The Department has been studying and creating improvements in the fields of production, transmission, distribution and final use of electricity, renewable energy sources, advanced power grids, electricity management problems, electricity trading and markets problems and usage of other forms of energy. Throughout the years, the Department has become the leading institution in the field of electrical power engineering in the region, maintaining long-term cooperation with the industry sector and has been recognized for scientific activity since the time of professor Požar and his establishment principles of the Zagreb School of Energy. Determined to remain a respectable research institution, the Department undertakes scientific research at the highest international levels through which valuable international cooperation with many research institutions around the world has been established.

LIBRARY ONLINE SERVICES DURING COVID-19: THE EXPERIENCE OF LIBRARIES IN CROATIA AND UKRAINE

The purpose of the article is to identify activities in providing online services during forced quarantine on the example of public libraries’ activities in Croatia and university libraries in Ukraine. The study aimed to identify, analyse, and characterise online services offered by libraries to establish remote customer service during the forced quarantine. The results of the study are presented in three sections. The first analyses the work of Croatian public libraries; the second, presents the experience of Ukrainian libraries; in the third, there is the case of the Scientific Library of Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts is displayed. The scientific novelty of the article is to identify practices for providing online services by libraries in Croatia and Ukraine during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The study shows that Croatian public librarians, as well as Ukrainian librarians, have demonstrated they can quickly adapt and use digital technologies on behalf of their supporters. Libraries went from developing imaginative practices to create online spaces in a matter of weeks. The result was a massive amount of produced content like workshops for children and adults; streamings of online events, organisation of virtual exhibitions, and collecting verified reference sources for research and learning. Another one of the impacts of this crisis was the accelerated development of digital library services, including online membership registration and the acquisition of e-books by public libraries. Public response was more significant than ever, including following, commenting, and sharing digital content created or shared by public libraries. The study found that the challenges of the COVID‑19 pandemic have intensified the digitisation of Ukrainian libraries and led to changes in activities. University libraries quickly adapted to remote work, offering their users a variety of remote services. The authors hope that the considered practices will contribute to disseminating better experience of libraries during quarantine in general and online services in remote maintenance in particular.

Macroeconomic effects of exogenous tax changes in a small open economy: narrative evidence from Croatia

ABSTRACT Following the Romer and Romer narrative approach (RR), this paper investigates the effects of tax changes (personal income tax and value added tax in particular) on economic activity in Croatia. We use the narrative approach to identify exogenous tax shocks and construct a unique time series of these shocks for the 2004–2019 period. However, as Croatia is a small open economy, we adjust the original RR modelling approach by taking into account the relevance of external (demand) shocks. Our results indicate that positive tax shocks lead to a fall in private consumption and output in the Keynesian manner. We show that, compared to direct taxes, indirect taxes exercise a stronger effect on macroeconomic aggregates, but the effect of direct taxes is statistically significant throughout the whole time horizon and does not fade out. As the main contributions of this paper to the existing literature, we highlight the following: firstly, this paper sets forth the first estimates of the macroeconomic effects of tax changes based on the narrative approach in the case of a developing economy; secondly, this study extends the original RR approach by including the effects of external shocks, making this approach more suitable for the analysis of fiscal policy in small open economies.

Geotehnika kao nezaobilazan segment potresnog inženjerstva

A broader overview of the role of geotechnics in earthquake engineering is given, and a set of practical examples of the quantification of geotechnical seismic indicators for construction of individual buildings is provided. An overview of oncoming changes to the current design standards for evaluating the effect the soil has on buildings in earthquake conditions is also given. Considering the level of seismic activity in Croatia, the need for adopting a comprehensive approach to seismic microzoning is emphasized, which involves a whole array of indicators, from lithological, engineering geological, and hydrogeological properties, and position of active faults, to identification of unstable slopes and zones of pronounced liquefaction potential, for which extensive geophysical and geotechnical investigations are required.

Music teaching in regular class and extracurricular music activities in Croatia: State and perspectives

AbstractIn the last 30 years Croatia has been involved in an intensive period of educational reforms. Music teaching, as a compulsory subject, underwent some positive and negative changes. The so-called open model and contents remake bring the possibility for teachers to be more creative and for students to be involved to a greater extent, but unfortunately, music lessons come to just 1 h per week. As a part of the Croatian school system, the extracurricular music activities are implemented in the school curriculum which affects the acquisition of new knowledge developing students’ musical skills. This paper aims to present the today’s situation of attending music classes in regular and extracurricular lessons in Croatia. Moreover, it discusses the international research project Schools@Concerts: Tuning up for the Music Experience which influences the idea how to carry out another kind of extracurricular musical activity which suits the worldwide environment. The intention is to familiarize students with (classical) music during the work in the extracurricular activity and by visiting to a concert. The author presents her own idea how to realize the extracurricular music activity Listening to Music with Concert Experience carried out by a cognitive – emotional approach to listening to music which contributes to the students’ music appreciation and preservation, transfer, renewal and dissemination of cultural heritage.

The austerity fuelled wave of contention in Croatia – myth or reality?

Analyses of protest dynamics in Croatia are rare, partially because until know it was not possible to view them systematically. Relying on the newly collected protest event data 2000-2017, this paper describes the main trends and dynamics of protest activities in Croatia in the observed period. It re-examines Beissinger and Sasse's claim about the absence of austerity related protests in Croatia after 2008. The analysis shows that though protests directly addressing austerity were relatively scarce, when the protest set is expanded to protests which demanded free public education, advocated labour rights, and fought for the right to the city, the prevailing thesis about "quietism" in Croatia can be challenged. The paper aims to relate some of the observed protest dynamics to Kerbo's distinction between movements of crisis and movements of affluence. Focusing on the period between the student movement in 2008 until Facebook protests in 2011, it shows that the student movement and "the right to the city" movement preceded Facebook pro- tests in formulating and expressing socio-economic grievances and articulated anti-systemic sentiment. Due to their strong organizational structure, resources and activists' "know-how", these movements resemble Kerbo's movements of affluence. On the other hand, the 2011 Facebook protests lacked organizational structure and continuous engagement and can be seen as movements of crisis.

To be or not to be in culture

The League of Communists of Croatia (LCC) Central Committee (CC) Ideological Commission as its task force, was one of the most important creators of cultural policy in the People's Republic of Croatia (PRC) / Socialist Republic of Croatia (SRC). Established in 1956 after 1952 dismantled Agitation and Propaganda Commissions, the Ideological Commission inherited part of the jurisdiction of former Agitprop, but it also took over those of the LCC CC Personnel Commissions, particularly with regard to political schools and membership education. The most important activity of this commission was to monitor and analyze the phenomenon of overall cultural, educational and scientific activity in Croatia, and suggesting to the LCC CC to take positions towards them, according to the given ideological current. This has become the decisive factor in cultural policy without whose approval or recommendation projects could not be realized. This paper will therefore concentrate precisely on this activity of the Ideological Commission and give a brief overview of its activity in the supervision of various forms of cultural activity - art, literature, film and media - press, radio and television, while its work in education and science, because of the broadness of the topic, in this case, will be left out. The Commission's activities surveyed in this paper are limited by the period between 1956 (its founding) and 1965 (the 5th LCC CC Congress) when the Commission was organizationally restructured and divided into several areas.

The influence of feeding on muscle tissues composition in cage reared bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Capture-based tuna aquaculture rates as one of the most important aquaculture activities in Cro-atia, where juvenile tuna are reared in cages for over a year long period in order to increase substan-tially their weight. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of length and intensity of feeding on biochemical composition (total fat, moisture, dry matter, carbohydrates and protein content) of tuna (Thunnus thynnus) white muscle tissues in newly caught tuna prior to feeding (NCTPF) versus far-med tuna kept in rearing circular cages in the Vela Grska Bay, Adriatic Sea (LAT 43°17’40,6984”N, LONG 016°28’58,4315”E (WGS84)) between 2001 and 2004. Farmed tunas from all cages were fed with the feed consisting of domestic small pelagic fish, or with mixtures containing North Sea herring (Clupea harengus) and Sardina pilchardus, for five months (cage 3), eight months (cage 4) or 21 months (cages 1 and 2). A low content of moisture and high content of dry matter including fat was observed in farmed tuna muscles compared to wild-caught tuna. In farmed tuna muscles, measured moisture was 55.26% in cage 1, 39.95% in cage 2, 54.64% in cage 3 and 49.70% in cage 4. These results are significantly lower than moisture measured in NCTPF (80.36%). Content of dry matter found in farmed tuna muscles also differed greatly between wild tuna (19.64%) and far-med tuna, but also between the cages (44.74% in cage 1, 60.05% in cage 2, 45.36% in cage 3 and 50.30% in cage 4). In NCTPF, muscle tissues total fat encompassed less than 1% of the total body weight, while it reached over 20% of total body mass in farmed fed tuna (20.62% in cage 1, 42.50% in cage 2, 20.97% in cage 3 and 20.57% in cage 4). These results demonstrate that high fat content can be achieved already after five months of intensive feeding. Higher content of proteins was also found in aquacultured tuna (18.60% in cage 1, 16.00% in cage 2, 15.09% in cage 3 and 20.58% in cage 4) compared to wild-caught tuna (13.77%). There were no differences in carbohydrates con-tent between tuna farmed in different cages and NCTPF tuna, indicating glycogen as a less optimal indicator of muscle tissue quality in farmed tuna of the present study.

Cjenovni balon na tržištu nekretnina u Republici Hrvatskoj

Baloni na tržištu pojava su brzog rasta cijena nakon koje dolazi njihov dramatični pad. U nekim dijelovima Hrvatske – uz more i u gradu Zagrebu – cijene nekretnina drastično rastu promatra li se razdoblje od 2000. godine. Zbog napuhavanja cijena nekretnina u SAD-u, 2008. godine došlo je došlo do svjetske gospodarske krize, koja se zbog prelijevanja s jednog tržišta na drugo prelila i na gospodarstvo Hrvatske. Ovaj rad proučava događa li se u Hrvatskoj danas isto, odnosno jesu li cijene nekretnina u Hrvatskoj osnovano rasle ili je riječ o balonu koji će u jednom trenutku „puknuti“. Cijene nekretnina u Hrvatskoj rastu zbog više čimbenika, poput povećane potražnje za nekretninama u svrhu turističkog najma, subvencioniranja stambenih kredita za mlade, povećane potražnje stranaca za nekretninama. Ako dođe do znatnog pada turističke aktivnosti u Hrvatskoj, cijene nekretnina mogle bi dramatično pasti.

The effects of macroeconomic policies under fixed exchange rates: A Bayesian VAR analysis

We analyse the effects of fiscal and monetary policies in Croatia and Macedonia estimated by a Bayesian vector autoregression (VAR). The main results of the study are as follows. Fiscal tightening leads to economic expansion in Macedonia and a decline in economic activity in Croatia. In both countries fiscal tightening leads to a decline in inflation and money market rates. Monetary tightening leads to output contraction and a decline in inflation in both countries. We find an opposite reaction of the fiscal authorities to a monetary shock, i.e., monetary contraction is accompanied by fiscal tightening in Croatia and by loose fiscal policy in Macedonia.

Balkan’s Experience in Peacekeeping

The article is devoted to one of the variants of the settlement in the Balkans – the activities of the peacekeeping forces in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The issue is considered from the point of view of the universality of the method of the «Blue Helmets» deployment in the conflict territories, depending on the internal situation in the region. Today, the experience of the «Blue Helmets» in the territory of the former Yugoslavia is again becoming relevant regarding the active discussion on the issue of the introduction of international peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. It should be emphasized that the Yugoslav version of peacekeeping is not as unambiguous as it sometimes seems to be. The variants of the Blue Helmets’ missions were different in Croatia and BiH. Which of them were more successful in terms of preventing further hostilities? As the experience of the Blue Helmets in BiH has shown, the protection of only certain cities could not suspend hostilities and contributed to the strengthening of only one side of the conflict. More effective was the experience of peacekeeping in Croatia, where for several years the disengagement of the belligerents brought peace and the opportunity for the civilian population to avoid numerous victims. The drawback of the peacekeepers’ activities in Croatia was that they could not withstand the military offensive operations of the Croatian army in the Serbian region, in fact parting before it.

The 10th Joint Meeting on Medicinal Chemistry (JMMC 2017) Held in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

The Croatian Chemical Society was established in 1926 and has developed over the decades into a society that actively supports all chemical activities in Croatia. The Society has eight divisions, the youngest of which, the Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, was established in 2012 and immediately became a member of the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC). The mission of the Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Division is the promotion and development of scientific, professional, and educational activities within the medicinal chemistry community in Croatia, as well as to build partnerships and collaborations with other primarily EU-based medicinal chemistry societies. In Croatia, medicinal chemistry research is ongoing at several institutes, including the University of Zagreb (Faculty of Science, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, and Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology), national institutes of science (Ruđer Bošković Institute), and private-sector drug discovery companies (CRO Fidelta Ltd.). In order to effectively exchange knowledge, ideas, and scientific results, Croatian medicinal chemists meet twice annually.