Computer-assisted Telephone Interview Methods Research Articles

Components of the mediterranean dietary pattern and COVID-19 symptoms

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected millions of lives globally. Despite the favourable impact of Mediterranean Dietary Pattern on cardiometabolic disorders that predispose themselves to COVID-19 infection, it is important to know the dietary components with potential to improve disease-related outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association of the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern and its components with the severity of COVID-19 symptoms. METHODOLOGY: Cross-sectional study with a sample of adults recovered from COVID-19 infection, residents of Funchal and unvaccinated. Data on sociodemographic variables, lifestyle, presence of chronic diseases, and intake of supplements food, self-perceived health status, COVID-19 symptoms and dietary consumption was collected using the Computer Assisted Telephone Interview method. Mediterranean Dietary Pattern adherence was obtained from the MEDAS (Mediterranean Diet Adherence Score) questionnaire. Simple and multiple logistic regression models were used to analyse the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and different metrics. RESULTS: A total of 541 adults were included in the study, 60.0% were female and 53.9% were 40-59 years old. Data show that 15.7% of the participants were asymptomatic for COVID-19 infection and 26.9% had severe symptoms. A strong adherence to Mediterranean Dietary Pattern was found in 14.8% of the participants, and it was significantly higher among the asymptomatic participants than those who reported mild or severe symptoms. A low ingestion of red/ processed meats, fats (butter/cream/margarine), commercial pastry and carbonated/ sugar-sweetened drinks, as well as consumption of poultry more than red meat, was associated with less severe COVID-19 symptoms, after adjustment for sex, age and education level. Participants who reported an adequate consumption of olive oil (OR=0.47; 95% CI: 0.25-0.88) and vegetables (OR=0.57; 95% CI: 0.35-0.94) were less likely to experience any symptoms of disease. Nevertheless, results were not consistent when several items, associated in bivariate analysis and in unadjusted logistic regression models, were taken into consideration. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to Mediterranean Dietary Pattern, in particular adequate consumption of olive oil and vegetables, and limited ingestion of commercial pastry, red/ processed meat, fats and carbonated/ sugar-sweetened drinks, was associated with less severe symptoms of COVID-19 infection.

Does organisational politics always hurt employee performance? Moderating–mediating model

PurposeDrawing on the job demands-resources theory, this study investigates the mediating role of job satisfaction and the moderating roles of abusive supervision and perceived organisational support (POS) in the relationship between perception of organisational politics (POP) and employee job performance. This study hypothesised that employees with high POS and low abusive supervision can function effectively even in organisations with a high level of organisational politics.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted anonymously on 408 employees, from companies operating in Poland which were completed using the computer-assisted telephone interview method. Statistical verifications of the moderation and mediation analyses were conducted with PROCESS macro.FindingsThe results showed that a high level of POP does not diminish employee performance when employees perceive low levels of abusive supervision and a high level of POS. Furthermore, the results revealed that job satisfaction mediates between POP and employee performance.Originality/valueThis study integrated research on politics, abusive supervision and POS to examine the collective impact of these variables on employee performance. The findings have important implications in terms of the potential buffering that can be applied to reduce the negative impacts resulting from POP.

R&D Cooperation and Investments concerning Sustainable Business Innovation: Empirical Evidence from Polish SMEs

The empirical literature provides strong evidence supporting the relation of various innovation activities, including business innovation. The literature, however, continues to be limited in the context of developing countries, especially considering different types of business innovations. The aim of the present research is to fill the gap in the literature concerning the impact of research and development (R&D) cooperation and various types of investments in innovation for the creation of sustainable business innovation in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Particular emphasis in this study is placed on the differences in types of business innovations. The research is based on cross-sectional data (n = 406) collected by the CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) method in a Polish peripheral region (Subcarpathian Voivodeship). To examine the relation between different innovation activities and the creation of business innovation, logistic regression was employed. The results show that the outputs of both R&D cooperation and investments are highly dependent on the innovation type. The outcomes suggest that R&D cooperation might be a driver of the implementation of development activities and organizational innovation, while the expenditures on machinery and equipment lead to a greater probability for the implementation of process innovation and development activities. We also found that expenditures on marketing activities and investments in the implementation of new solutions may have an impact on business innovation implementation.

Who needs transformational leadership to craft their job? The role of work engagement and personal values

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss relationships between transformational leadership and job crafting. Using the job demands-resource (JD-R) theory, this study investigates the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between transformational leadership and job crafting. The author has also tested the moderating roles of personal values.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on data from 450 knowledge workers representing companies of various sizes from the knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) sector in Poland. The questionnaires were completed using the computer-assisted telephone interview method. The statistical verification of the mediation and moderation analyses was conducted using macro PROCESS (ver. 3.3).FindingsThe findings show that transformational leadership was positively related to job crafting. Statistical analysis also confirmed the research hypothesis that as a personal resource, self-enhancement values moderate relationships between transformational leadership and work engagement, thus strengthening them. The study integrated research on leadership and personal and organisational resources to examine the collective impact of these variables on employee job crafting.Originality/valueThe study is the first to explore the mediating mechanism (through work engagement) between transformational leadership and job crafting in the context of KIBS companies in Poland.

Business model innovation based on new technologies – is it resources driven and dependent?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the significance and impact of different resource types and their features on the operation of business model innovation (BMI) based on new technologies and their effects. Specifically, the relationships of nine different types of resources, as well as their features in terms of VRIO and VARIM concepts, and 10 BMI effects of operation were examined. The significance and impact of resources on the operation of BMI are pretty well established in the literature. However, when the analysis is narrowed down to BMI based on new technologies, there is very little research in this field. This is partly because of the subject’s novelty and the wide range and complexity of this phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachThe research covers 483 Polish companies that implement BMI based on new technology. For gathering data, the computer-assisted telephone interview method was used. Analysis is based on Spearman correlation. Results meet the requirement of p-value = 0.01 and are statistically significant and representative.FindingsThe main findings of this paper is that there is a need for building interdependency and synergy between individual types and features of resources and thus properly arrange and orchestrate them to succeed. Moreover, there are several patterns that stand out from the analysis, with the leading role of employees, technology, dynamic capabilities and know-how being the key enablers of BMI transformation.Practical implicationsThe paper presents several compounds and relationships that shed light on the application and effects of BMI based on new technologies in terms of resource utilization, which can help business owners and senior managers to make consistent decisions in matching and orchestrating resources.Originality/valueThis study clarifies theoretical concepts building a resource-based view (VRIO, VARIM, dynamic capabilities, etc.) and their impact on BMI based on new technology. The results expand and complement existing research by shedding new light on resource utilization and orchestration.

One month prevalence of self–reported musculoskeletal pain syndromes and correlates

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of 1 month musculoskeletal pain symptoms in a representative sample of the Slovenian general population and to determine factors associated with the symptoms.
 Methods: We performed an observational cross–sectional study in June 2011 in a representative sample of 1,002 randomly selected Slovenian citizens, stratified according to gender and age, using a computer–assisted telephone interview method.
 Results: At least 1 day in the past month, 559 participants (55.7%) experienced musculoskeletal symptoms; 226 participants (22.5%) experienced musculoskeletal symptoms everyday of the past month. Older age, female gender, lower education, lower monthly income, seeking lay advice, seeking medical advice, self–treatment, self–reported mobility problems, problems with self–care, pain, difficulties in daily activities, anxiety and/or depression, employment, retired, and a chronic disease were associated with the presence of musculoskeletal pain during the entire past month. When compared to the remainder of the sample, subjects with musculoskeletal pain had more often mobility problems and more often reported the presence of pain.
 Conclusion: Musculoskeletal symptoms are very common in the Slovenian general population and present a significant public health problem.

Gerontechnology — new opportunities in the service of older adults

Abstract The increasingly more visible trend of population ageing necessitates creating technologies supporting the functioning of older adults. Consequently, more gerontechnologies emerge designed to help the older adults in their daily functioning, from devices monitoring the health to special trolleys improving the mobility or Virtual Reality devices for active learning. This article aimed to determine the most desired group of gerontechnologies among current and future users. It focused on individual assessments of the most desirable group of gerontechnologies based on various criteria. The investigation aimed to find the criterion rated the highest in the selected group of gerontechnologies. The gerontechnology group was assessed against seven groups of criteria distinguished by the authors, i.e., Technology Innovation, Technology Demand, Social and Ethical Criteria, Technology Usability, Technology Functionality, Technology Ease of Use and Technology Use Risk. The survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire, using CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) and CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) methods, with the research sample comprised of 1 152 residents of Poland. Thus far, no studies have been conducted to evaluate this group of technologies based on the above-mentioned criteria.

Marketing Activities of Local Food Producers in E-Commerce

The food industry is characterized by a constant increase in value. The purpose of this study is to identify the most popular marketing forms used by the analyzed enterprises, which were food producers selling online among the local community and identification of the correlation of the analyzed variables with the age of companies. The survey was carried out with the use of the CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) method, and the research tool was a questionnaire. The Chi-square statistics was used to examine the dependencies of individual variables and V-Cramer coefficient was used to identify the strength of the correlation. The obtained results and their analysis enable to conclude that there is a strong relation between the number of encountered problems in conducting online sales and the period of the company’s existence. The relationship (with a moderate strength) between sources of marketing inspirations used in e-stores and the company’s age was also confirmed. Furthermore, it was noticed that the number of marketing tools increases with the period of the company’s existence. Sales promotion, social media marketing and website positioning were indicated among the most popular tools.

Innovation Management in Polish Real Estate Developers in the Renewable Energy Sources Context

This paper analyses innovative activities, including renewable energy sources (RES) in the housing market, the motivations for their introduction, effectiveness, benefits, limitations and management—which are open and current problems of Polish and international sustainable construction. This problem is part of a research gap concerning, among others, the role of developers and entities responsible for introducing energy innovations into housing construction. The aim of the paper is to analyse innovations, with particular emphasis on RES, introduced by residential developers in Poland in the context of global trends. The work is based on the results of surveys conducted among developers of the primary housing market. The research of 130 questionnaires received from entities such as multi-storey buildings and multi-family houses in Poland, was carried out on a nationwide sample using the CATI Computer Assisted Telephone Interview method. The results of the survey research were summarized by setting research hypotheses, which were verified using the significance test based on the Laplace normal distribution. The research conducted has shown that residential developers in Poland point at, among others, competitive pressures, concern about the quality of products and services offered, increasing market share or satisfaction and increasing customer requirements. This clearly shows that the implementation of innovation is perceived through the prism of increasing competitiveness. Furthermore, developers operating in the more competitive markets—nationwide and on the market of the five largest Polish cities, usually larger companies, showed a greater willingness and even the need to introduce innovation in their activities. In the study, developers as one of the barriers of introducing innovations, apart from the lack of adequate support, mainly from public entities in the field of, inter alia, appropriate law favouring the implementation of innovations and financial support, indicate difficulties of the client’s market manifested by the lack of knowledge and identification of needs in the field of innovation, and the lack of willingness to pay a higher price in regard to the product with higher innovation level. In the paper, the authors recommend developers, among others, to implement in the management process the identification of possible to implement innovations and the customers’ needs in innovations with education in the field of possible innovations and its benefits. The article indicates the need to intensify the implementation of innovations in housing projects in order to increase competitiveness and to meet the European Union’s requirement regarding the use of renewable energy sources.

HPWSs and employee performance in KIBS companies: a mediating–moderating analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss relationships between high-performance work systems (HPWSs) and productive/counterproductive behaviours initiated and performed by employees. Using the ability, motivation and opportunities (AMO) theoretical framework, the authors described how an HPWS influences employee behaviours. The authors suggest that HPWSs could increase productive work behaviour and decrease counterproductive behaviours by mediating employees' affective commitment and moderating their self-efficacy.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on data from 563 questionnaires, which were completed using the computer-assisted telephone interview method. The respondents were knowledge workers, representing companies of various sizes in the Knowledge-Intensive Business Service (KIBS) sector in Poland. Statistical verification of the mediation and moderation analyses was conducted with macro PROCESS (ver. 3.3).FindingsThis research confirmed a significant statistical relationship between all examined variables. It has been shown that HPWSs influence productive and counterproductive behaviours both directly and indirectly through mediation of affective commitment. The statistical analysis also confirmed the study’s hypothesis that self-efficacy moderates relationships between an HPWS and employee behaviours.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has two limitations: its cross-sectional design and the use of self-reported questionnaire data.Originality/valueThis study is the first to explore mediating mechanisms between HPWSs and employee performance in the context of the KIBS companies in Poland. The results indicate that HPWSs are important antecedents of productive and counterproductive behaviours among knowledge workers.

A Contingent Valuation Study for Eliciting a Monetary Value of a Quality-Adjusted Life-Year in the General Greek Population

ObjectivesTo elicit a willingness-to-pay (WTP) per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) estimate for the general Greek population and assess the impact of individuals' socio-demographic characteristics and motives on this estimate. MethodsA telephone-based survey was carried out employing a representative sample of the general Greek population (n = 1342). A computer-assisted telephone-interview method was adopted to ensure random sampling. A total of 528 participants reported a WTP value for a utility improvement from their current health to perfect health. Those individuals’ motives were assessed through predefined statements. Test–retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Multiple linear regression (MLR) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted to assess the effect of socioeconomic/demographic determinants and motive statements, respectively, on WTP/QALY. MLR was re-estimated considering as dependent variable the WTP/QALY estimate calculated for participants: (1) stating a WTP value ≤ their household income and (2) presenting higher certainty regarding stated WTP value (sensitivity analysis). ResultsAnalysis revealed good reliability for WTP/QALY estimates and motive statements (ICC values > 0.8). Mean WTP/QALY was €26 280. The respective 5% trimmed value was €14 862. Being a student and household income affected WTP/QALY. Sensitivity analysis did not produce markedly different WTP/QALY predictors, implying the robustness of results, irrespective of the participant group considered. Individuals who indicated the inability to cover basic family needs or pay tax claims as motives reported lower WTP/QALY values compared with those not viewing these aspects as motives. ConclusionsFindings confirm that the World Health Organization’s criterion used currently in Greek cost-effectiveness studies is not unreasonable. Additional research is essential to further explore WTP/QALY estimates in the Greek setting and facilitate informed decision making.

Diversity in Canada: Predictors of the perceptions of social interactions

ABSTRACTCanada is one of the most diverse countries in the world, but do Canadians accept diversity? This study examines the factors that predict the perceptions of social interactions among individuals in Canada. The data were obtained from the Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS) conducted by Statistics Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage in 2002. Multivariate analyses were applied to investigate whether individuals’ racial, linguistic, religious, socioeconomic, and immigrant status influence their perceptions of their social interactions. The data comprised 41,695 responses from individuals in ten provinces of Canada, using a computer-assisted telephone interview method. The logistic regression results indicate that it is likely that people who belong to a visible minority, have lower socioeconomic status, speak non-official languages, and follow a religion other than Christianity feel discriminated against, uncomfortable/out-of-place, and worried about becoming a victim of hate-crime in Canada. The French-speaking people also feel discriminated against and out-of-place in Canada. This study informs us about the public attitude on the dynamics of social interactions in a multi-cultural and multi-racial society. It reinforces the need for community-based researchers, community development workers and policy makers to address discrimination and hostility and to invest in programs and policies that promote an inclusive society in Canada.

Family Entrepreneurship Orientation in Family Owned SMEs: A Key Resource for Internationalization?

A B S T R A C T Objective : The main goal of this article is to find the answer to the questions: what is the nature of the internationalization of family businesses from Poland? Do they internationalize ad hoc or do they plan an internationalization strategy? Which resources are needed for the internationalization process? Research Design & Methods : The author used qualitative approach with CATI ( Computer Assisted Telephone Interview ), PAPI ( Paper & Pen Personal Interview ) and CAII ( Computer Assisted Internet Interview ) methods. 420 questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis. Findings: This study focuses on the evaluation of entrepreneurship orientation as the main resource of the internationalization nature (ad hoc or a strategic plan) of family businesses from Poland and measured it through the four elements proposed by Covin and Slevin (1989): Innovation, Proactivity, Autonomy and Risk. Implications & Recommendations: To internationalise, family business families need to apply entrepreneurship orientation, especially proactiveness towards new challenges, and strategic planning and tools. Contribution & Value Added: The research provides evidence of a higher degree of EO in the behaviour of a family. More successful family businesses are in international markets. They also have a challenge oriented culture, which means that such companies are oriented towards new ventures, new relations, new solutions and new markets. But they plan new challenges using the strategic approach.

Corporate social responsibility disclosure

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the usage of non-financial information related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues from the perspective of sell-side analysts (SSAs) and buy-side analysts (BSAs) employed in Poland-based financial institutions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey among financial analysts with the use of the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) method and an online questionnaire. The adopted methods included purposeful, quota sampling and snowball sampling.FindingsResults indicate that financial analysts make use of CSR disclosures very rarely and attribute little importance to such information. Despite the limited use of CSR information and negative assessments of its quality, respondents are in favor of making a more frequent use of CSR disclosures. Finally, except for an analyst’s attitude toward the “comparability in time” information characteristic, results do not indicate any significant differences between SSAs’ and BSAs’ responses.Research limitations/implicationsThe limited number of questionnaires prevented the use of more sophisticated statistical methods and the formulation of conclusions that could apply to the entire population. In addition, although the adopted CATI method provides a number of advantages, it also has its limitations – interviews had limited time and the questions along with the answers had to take into account the respondents’ limited perception ability.Practical implicationsThe results of this study suggest that CSR disclosures have limited usage for financial analysts, at least in the Polish context. Further, not only do respondents rarely make use of CSR disclosures but they also give low assessments to their quality. This implies that the concept of CSR remains relatively far from becoming a priority; hence, some measures and incentives may be necessary.Originality/valueThe paper adds to a relatively small number of studies that have dealt with the issue of non-financial information and its usefulness for SSAs and BSAs in Central and Eastern Europe.

Exploration of Key Success Factors that Influence Business Performance: The Experiences of Women Micro-entrepreneurs from Mazovia Voivodeship of Poland

Abstract Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing categories of firms in the world, but they are greatly understudied in countries from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) [Zapalska et al., 2005]. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between business success predictors and the performance of female-owned micro-enterprises from the Mazovia Voivodeship in Poland during the period 2011–2013, using an Internet-based survey questionnaire. The data were collected by the CAWI (computer assisted web interview) and CATI (computer assisted telephone interview) methods. Exploratory factor analysis, correlation coefficients analysis and multivariate regression models were deployed to investigate the empirical data. This study contributes to the limited body of literature on factors that positively affect the business performance of female entrepreneurial undertakings, using the context of the Polish experiences. Drawing on Gartner’s [1985] typology and “the resource-based view of the firm” theory, a theoretical research model was developed and verified empirically using three multivariate regression models. “Model A” displayed the highest explanatory power of the predicted dependent variable “Composite business performance” (R2 = 42,3). Our findings suggest that the most successful female business owners in the region were ideally 30–39 years old; completed a university education; had at least three years of business experience; displayed above average entrepreneurial orientation; and adopted a business strategy to deal with competitors. Moreover, the better performing women-owned micro-enterprises hired qualified and experienced employees (“hman capital”); offered products or services to domestic and international customers; were able to attract business sector clients; and had sufficient resources (“financial capital”). It is recommended that this research be replicated in other countries from the CEE region (e.g. Czech Republic) for comparative purposes.

Integrated Approach to Supply Chain Performance Measurement – Results of the Study on Polish Market

The purpose of this study is to examine the integration level of supply chain performance measurement among the largest production and commercial companies in Poland. Modern advanced measurement systems should analyze both the performance of individual organizations in the supply chains and the performance of a supply chain as a whole (integrated approach). Many international researches show that lack of information about the situation in the entire supply chain and lack of methods to analyze the entire network of partners is one of the most important barriers to improve the performance.A questionnaire survey was carried out within the research project ʽMeasuring the performance of supply chains in the largest production and commercial companies in Poland’. The survey involved a sample of 79 senior level managers responsible for logistics/supply chain management of the companies listed on the ʽRanking of 500 largest companies in Poland by Rzeczpospolita Daily’. It was carried out with the use of CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) method. The final form of the questionnaire was adopted after conducting a pilot study with logistics / supply chain directors of three leading companies in Poland.Methods of supply chain performance measurement used on Polish market do not take into account to a sufficient degree all the cooperating partners in the extended supply chain (from suppliers’ suppliers to the final consumer), what has a negative impact on the performance of these chains. The research results indicate that the main barriers to the implementation of advanced measurement systems include: insufficient awareness of managers concerning the role of supply chains management in building the real value, low tendency to invest in advanced tools that support such measurement, fear of increase in costs, as well as reluctance to share information with partners.The study shows a potential to improve existing achievements, which should arouse interest of companies. Awareness among managers about potential for improving the performance of supply chains by using integrated measurement and adequate management information on the entire system should have an impact on tendency to invest in tools to support such measurement.The study fills the gap in the existing literature on logistics and supply chain management. This is the only research that treats this topic comprehensively on Polish market and is a base for benchmarking studies in Europe and worldwide.

Are Firms in Corporate Groups More Resilient During an Economic Crisis? Evidence from the Manufacturing Sector in Poland

Corporate groups are specific types of business networks that generate particular advantages for firms. They allow corporates to reduce costs, develop the pool of resources and increase the flexibility of operations and responses to external shocks among others. The above mentioned benefits are of even greater importance during times of economic turbulence. Their involvement in a corporate group should theoretically allow firms to perform better. The aim of this study is to verify whether corporate group membership truly translated into a firm’s higher input competitiveness and a firm’s better performance during the recent economic crisis. First, we try to investigate if the input competitiveness is higher in the case of firms being members of corporate groups. Second, we test whether the involvement in a corporate group matters for the performance of the firms. Using critical in-depth literature studies and conducting the primary empirical research using the CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) method we strive to verify the following hypothesis - the higher a company’s input competitiveness during the economic crisis, the better a competitive position the company achieves. The empirical research encompasses more than 700 corporates from the manufacturing sector in Poland during the global economic crisis and shortly afterwards. To investigate the issue we use the following methods of statistical analysis – cluster analysis, non-parametric tests and correlation coefficients. The results of the study show that firms involved in both Polish and international corporate groups were more resilient during the economic crisis than those which were not.

Awareness, Knowledge, and Concern About Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)—a common eye disease causing vision loss—can be detected early through regular eye-health examinations, and measures can be taken to prevent visual decline. Getting eye examinations requires certain levels of awareness, knowledge, and concern related to AMD. However, little is known about AMD-related awareness, knowledge, and concern levels of population groups who may be affected by or at risk for AMD. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess these factors among—and health information seeking patterns of—four groups of individuals: [a] the general population, [b] a group at-risk for AMD due to race and advanced age, [c] a group at high-risk for AMD due to race, advanced age, and smoking behavior, and [d] a group diagnosed with AMD. Data were collected through telephone interviews with 894 adults using a computer assisted telephone interview method. Results demonstrate that while AMD awareness is high, knowledge about AMD risk factors and concern about the disease is lacking. The most prominent source of AMD awareness was knowing someone who had been diagnosed, and physicians were the main source for health-related information. AMD-related awareness campaigns should focus on educating older adults about AMD risk factors and involving healthcare professionals and older adults with AMD as peer educators.

Health care issues in Croatian elections 2005-2010: series of public opinion surveys.

AimTo compare the results of a series of public opinion surveys on experiences with the health care sector in Croatia conducted in the time of elections and to analyze whether political party affiliation had any influence on issues of priority ranking.MethodsThe surveys were conducted during 2005, 2007, and 2009. They were administered through a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing method to representative samples of Croatian population and were statistically weighted according to sex, age, level of education, and political party affiliation. The random sampling of the person within the household was done using the table of random numbers.ResultsHealth and health care system was the most important issue (58%) during the 2007 parliamentary election and the second most important issue during the 2005 and 2009 elections (46% and 28%). In the 2007 election, health care was viewed as most important by women, respondents with lower education levels, and respondents with lower income. In 2005, the most important health care issues were corruption and lack of funding (45% and 43%, respectively), in 2007 poor organization and lack of funding (43% and 42%, respectively), and in 2009 lack of funding and corruption (51% and 45%, respectively).ConclusionHealth and health care system were consistently among the top two issues in all elections from 2005 to 2009. The top three most important health care sector issues were corruption, poor organization, and lack of funding. This indicates that political parties should include solutions to these issues in their health care policymaking.

Importance of activity data for improving the residential wood combustion emission inventory at regional level

Abstract The contribution of residential wood combustion (RWC) to emission inventory at local level was estimated using a bottom–up approach for the Lombardy Region of North Italy. A survey, based on the CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) method, has been undertaken through 18,000 interviews. The interviews had the objective to characterize the RWC use in this region, in term of both total and municipal wood consumption. Details on the type of appliances used in RWC were also gathered. The results of the survey were then statistically analyzed in order to allow an estimate of RWC with high spatial resolution (i.e., at municipal level) in relation to the size and altitude of the territory. The work provides new evidence of the importance of wood combustion as a key source for PM and NMVOC emissions at local level, and thus highlights the importance of technological improvements and new policies aimed at emission reduction in this sector. Considering the great differences in average PM emission factors between low efficiency appliances (fireplaces, old stoves) and high efficiency ones (new stoves, pellet burners), this work emphasizes the importance of obtaining more detailed information on the types of wood appliances used for arriving at a reliable PM emission inventory for RWC.