European Social Fund Research Articles

Az in-store marketing innovációinak szerepe a vásárlói élmény megteremtésében és kapcsolódása a digitális térhez

  THE AIMS OF THE PAPER The study reviews the innovations and trends that determine the opportunities and challenges of in-store marketing today and in the near future and at the same time play an important role in creating a customer experience. We also focus on the question of how the opportunities created by the digitization of commerce can be fitted to in-store tools. METHODOLOGY Our study examines four groups of factors from the in-store marketing tools by processing the literature related to the topic and using the reports of research institutes. These are: the store atmosphere, especially the physical environment, product and brand offerings, promotional offers, and innovative solutions for connecting to the digital space. MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS In today’s commerce, the complex customer experience is through which the loyalty of a customer can be gained and maintained in the long run. Consumer behaviour has changed, the new consumer expects new experiences, which is also reflected by the innovations that have taken place in the field of in-store marketing. The optimization of the physical environment and the space of the shops enables the fast and efficient execution of purchases, which has become a basic requirement. A strategic role was given to the product range and the expanded store brand range in line with the new trends, the well-designed in-store promotion, and the operation of loyalty programs more efficient than before. A new challenge is the hybrid purchasing behaviour of consumers (online and offline) to which traders and manufacturers must also adapt. The use of the digital advances of our time in the presentation of goods, communication or payment will also be a fundamental competitive factor in the commercial sector. RECOMMENDATIONS From a practical point of view, two areas are worth highlighting: Omnichannel user behaviour, i.e., simultaneous and combined usage of online and offline environments, is increasingly popular, therefore in spite of the possible dangers, today it is not a viable option for merchants not to invest in online commerce. Beside this, another area to be highlighted is customization, to which in-store marketing may contribute with its several tools, from personalized services through loyalty programs, to taking advantage of the almost limitless opportunities of digitization. Acknowledgement: The publication is supported by the EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00003 project. The project is co-financed by the European Union and the European Social Fund.

Az integrált viselkedéses modell alkalmazása az egészségmagatartás befolyásolására I.

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER Several theories can be found in domestic and international literature which try to explain different forms of health behavior. One direction of them are social-cognitive theories that have successfully predicted and explained several behaviors, including various health behaviors. Beside this, they have also served as the basis for numerous successful interventions aiming at behavioral changes. Although the Integrated Behavioral Model (IBM) – which was developed by integrating more social-cognitive behavioral models – proved to be similarly successful in explaining and predicting specific health behaviors, and in serving as a basis for programs aiming at behavioral changes, its application has not been widespread yet, especially in the Hungarian literature. The aim of our two-part series is to provide a literature review of the structure and the application methods of the model, assisting its future applications in domestic empirical research in the field of health (and maybe other types of) behaviors. METHODOLOGY In our studies, Hungarian and international literature on the origin, structure, and practical applications of the IBM has been revealed and presented by secondary research. MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS The current study describes the theoretical bases and the structure of IBM, while the second part deals with its practical applications. Since the model is almost totally missing from the Hungarian literature, the systematic review of related theoretical and empirical experiences can be seen as filling the gap. PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS The IBM can be applied successfully for health behaviors that the literature has tried to explain by other theories, based on the methodology and the previous examples found in the literature and presented in the current study. Acknowledgement: This publication was supported by the EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00003 project. The project is co-financed by the European Union and the European Social Fund.

The evolution of the legal framework of the European Social Fund, a factor of social cohesion in the French outermost regions?

En depit d'une extension tardive, a partir de 1971, de son champ d'application aux departements francais d'outremer (DOM), precurseurs des regions ultraperipheriques (RUP), le Fonds social europeen (FSE) a vu son cadre juridique d'intervention evoluer dans ses dispositions de droit commun, en droit primaire et en droit derive, pour etre mis dans la definition de ses missions prioritaires au service du developpement social des regions ultramarines francaises, incluant deux iles de l'ocean Indien : La Reunion, depuis l'origine, et Mayotte, depuis le 1er janvier 2014. Bien que ces regions aient beneficie d'un soutien preferentiel en leur qualite de regions europeennes en retard de developpement, le cadre juridique du FSE n'a connu, neanmoins, qu'une adaptation relative, d'ordre essentiellement quantitatif, aux graves handicaps sociaux de ces regions ; si bien que leur situation socio-economique, toujours preoccupante, appelle, aux fins d'un renforcement de leur cohesion sociale, a une reforme ambitieuse du cadre juridique du FSE, sur le fondement de l'article 349 du traite sur le fonctionnement de l'Union europeenne (TFUE), dans la perspective de la politique de cohesion post2020 en cours de negociation.

Integration around regional development goals. Discourse concerning the European Social Fund utilisation in Opolskie region

The article presents an analysis of the discourse of the European Social Found (ESF) component in Regional Operating Programme of Opolskie Voivodeship present in regional media. The paper shows multilevel institutional conditions for the regional ESF discourse that concerns the integration around regional development goals. Next, it includes an analysis of the EFS discourse in regional media. The comparison of regulations and regional media discourse shows important discrepancies between them, which becomes an argument for considering regional media discourse on ESF as somewhat independent from institutional regulations. The article also shows that the integration around regional development goals is not the main focal point in it and is not realised precisely in according to the external regulations.

Community-Led Local Development (CLLD)- A Tool for Implementing Regional Development Policies

In the current programming period of the EU Cohesion Policy, 2014-2020, two instruments have been introduced to implement territorial strategies based on economic and social cohesion: Community-led Local Development (CLLD) and Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI). These refer to all the funds covered by the Common Strategic Framework (European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, European Agricultural Fund for Regional Development, European Fisheries Fund and Cohesion Fund).

Is Training a Precondition for Enhancing Innovation Capacity? Current Perception of Employment Agencies’ Civil Servants in Romania

The civil servants’ training process plays a key role in developing the public employees’ skills and broadening their vision. The present paper seeks to examine the perception of Em­ployment Agencies’ civil servants regarding the effectiveness of training programs, measured through their impact on the number of projects initiated and implemented under Sectorial Oper­ational Programme for Human Resources Devel­opment 2007-2013. The role of training programs in enhancing civil servants’ innovation capacity is also investigated. The methodology consists in an analysis of 253 projects financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) during 2009-2015 and an empirical research using a representative sample of 337 civil servants who attended EU funded training courses in project management. The conclusions of this paper indicated a direct relation between the number of projects developing training cours­es in ‘project management’ and the number of projects initiated and implemented annually by the territorial Agencies for Employment. More­over, a positive correlation between the training programs and the innovation capacity of civil servants from County Agencies for Employment was also identified.

Assessment of changes in the level of human capital in Poland in the context of the use of European funds for projects in the field of science and education contracted for implementation in 2004–2006

The article presents the analysis of 2,947 projects in the area of science and education co-financed by the Structural Funds in Poland in 2004–2006. It summarizes the investments co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. Data on 2,947 projects, with their regional division, have been verified. Thanks to this regional leaders have been distinguished in terms of the number of projects and raised funds in 2004–2006. Most importantly, the amount of the subsidy from the EU to projects in the area of science and education in Poland in the years 2004–2006 has been estimated per capita of individual region. These data were compared with the selected human capital development indicators in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012 to assess the impact of European funding in the field of science and education on human capital in Poland.

The association between changes in functional capacity and work ability among unemployed individuals

PurposeUnemployment has multidimensional effects. This study investigated how the changes in functioning are associated with the changes in perceived work ability among unemployed people.MethodsThe participants were clients in projects funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) targeted for unemployed individuals. They answered a questionnaire covering work ability (Work Ability Score) and functioning (cognitive, psychological and social functioning, physical condition and everyday activities) and perceived health at the beginning and at the end of the project (mean follow-up 173 days). The study included data from unemployed respondents (N = 502) aged 19–64 years.ResultsOverall, during the follow-up, both work ability and different aspects of functioning improved, excluding physical condition. Changes in cognitive and psychological functioning, physical condition and everyday activities were significantly associated with the changes in work ability. The physical condition had the strongest association with the changes in work ability. Short unemployment time and especially good perceived health improved WAS over time. Age, gender and follow-up time were not associated with changes in work ability.ConclusionsMaintaining or improving health and functioning and shortening the length of unemployment appeared to be important issues in enhancing work ability and thus increasing re-employability potential.

The local governance of active inclusion: A field for social partner action

The idea of ‘active inclusion’ was embraced by the European Commission in 2008 and supported financially through the European Social Fund, inspiring national and subnational reforms throughout Europe. This article analyses the role played by social partners in its implementation, using three comparative case studies to assess its transposition at the local level in Spain, France and Sweden. Despite convergence in the vocabulary used by actors involved in labour market governance, translation into local measures is different, with significant implications for policy-making. To explain the varieties of active inclusion, I focus on the interplay between structure and the agency of competing local political and social actors who participate in labour market governance.

Simulation of production processes with Plant Simulation

This article presents the modelling of interconnected companies’ logistic processes with Tecnomatix Plant Simulation by Siemens. It has two main parts. The first contains the details of recognition including simulation. The second part presents the modelling with Tecnomatix Plant Simulation. My publication is supported by the EFOP3.6.1-16-2016-00022 project. The project is co-financed by the European Union and the European Social Fund.

Simulation of production processes with Plant Simulation

This article presents the modelling of interconnected companies’ logistic processes with Tecnomatix Plant Simulation by Siemens. It has two main parts. The first contains the details of recognition including simulation. The second part presents the modelling with Tecnomatix Plant Simulation. My publication is supported by the EFOP3.6.1-16-2016-00022 project. The project is co-financed by the European Union and the European Social Fund.

Kształtowanie kluczowych kompetencji nauczycieli edukacji elementarnej – raport z badań

Celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie badań pilotażowych przeprowadzonych wśród studentów drugiego roku studiów niestacjonarnych i stacjonarnych kierunku pedagogika ze specjalnością edukacja przedszkolna i wczesnoszkolna oraz studentów pierwszego roku uczestniczących w projekcie zatytułowanym: „Eksperymentalny program kształcenia nauczycieli przedszkoli i edukacji wczesnoszkolnej w AIK”. Projekt ten jest współfinansowany ze środków Unii Europejskiej w ramach Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego, który ma na celu podniesienie kompetencji osób uczestniczących w edukacji na poziomie wyższym, odpowiadających potrzebom gospodarki, rynku pracy i społeczeństwa, poprzez opracowanie i wdrożenie innowacyjnego programu kształcenia nauczycieli wczesnej edukacji. Badania diagnostyczno-weryfikacyjne zostały przeprowadzone w czerwcu 2019 roku. Studenci oceniali swoje kluczowe kompetencje, które uzyskali w trakcie procesu kształcenia. W celu ich porównania zastosowano Test U Manna-Withneya. Analiza wyników badań pozwala na ocenę realizowanych programów, które są podstawą do opracowania nowego modelu kształcenia kluczowych kompetencji nauczycieli edukacji elementarnej. W artykule przedstawiono założenia programu kształcenia nauczycieli, podstawy metodologiczne przeprowadzonych badań oraz analizę zgromadzonych wyników badań.

Absence Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) In Cattle From Portugal: A One Health Approach.

This work was funded by the R&D Project CAREBIO2 - Comparative assessment of antimicrobial resistance in environmental biofilms through proteomics - towards innovative theranostic biomarkers, with reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-030101 and PTDC/SAU-INF/30101/2017, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Northern Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020) and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry - LAQV which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UID/QUI/50006/2019). Vanessa Silva is supported by national funds through FCT/MCTES and by the European Social Fund through POCH/FSE under the PhD grant SFRH/BD/137947/2018.

P5389Limited regenerative potential of the neonatal porcine heart after myocardial infarction

Abstract Background Neonatal murine hearts possess -for a brief period after birth- a robust capacity for spontaneous myocardial regeneration following cardiac injury. Whether hearts of neonatal large mammals possess similar regenerative potential is a matter of active investigation. Recently, two studies reported that 1-day-old and 2-day-old neonatal pigs exhibit a significant cardiac regenerative response post-myocardial infarction (MI), characterized by minimal cardiac fibrosis and spontaneous recovery of left ventricular (LV) function; this regenerative capacity is purportedly lost after the first two days of life. Purpose We sought to evaluate the regenerative potential of neonatal porcine hearts after MI. Methods Twenty-one neonatal farm pigs were randomly assigned to undergo MI by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery on postnatal day 1 (P1) or postnatal day 3 (P3). Infarcted P1 and P3 pigs were euthanized either at 1 week or at 7 weeks post-MI. Hearts explanted at 1 week post-MI underwent fluorescent immunohistochemistry for Ki67 and alpha-sarcomeric actinin to quantify myocyte cell cycle re-entry. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed at 7 weeks post-MI to quantify fractional shortening and systolic thickening of the anterior (infarcted) LV wall and the posterior (non-infarcted) LV wall. Hearts explanted at 7 weeks post-MI underwent staining with triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride and Masson's Trichrome to quantify infarct size, infarct circumference and infarct transmurality. Results Fourteen animals successfully completed the protocol. Infarct size (P1: 9.5±2.2% vs P3: 8.9±3.6% of LV, p=0.797), infarct circumference (P1: 33.8±7.1% vs P3: 29.8±10.6% of LV, p=0.566) and infarct transmurality (P1: 38.1±4.3% vs P3: 40.4±13.7% of anterior wall, p=0.764) were comparable in P1 and P3 animals at 7 weeks post-MI. LV fractional shortening (an index of global LV systolic function) was similar in P1 and P3 animals at 7 weeks post-MI (P1: 25.5±2.9% vs P3: 23.7±4.5%, p=0.662). Furthermore, systolic thickening in the anterior (infarcted) LV wall was depressed to a similar degree in P1 and P3 animals (P1: 31.8±5.3% vs P3: 32.3±8.5%, p=0.914) compared to systolic thickening in the posterior (non-infarcted) wall (P1: 72.5±9.0% vs P3: 69.0±11.4%, p=0.666) at 7 weeks post-MI. Myocyte cell cycle re-entry in the infarct border zone was increased in P1 animals compared to P3 animals (P1: 4.5±1.3 vs P3: 2.3±0.6 per field of view, p=0.045) at 1 week post-MI. Conclusions In contrast to recently-published reports, we did not observe a robust cardiac regenerative response in neonatal porcine hearts post-MI. Hearts of both 1-day-old and 3-day-old neonatal pigs exhibited substantial scarring and significant hypokinesia of the infarcted myocardium post-MI. Additional research is warranted to assess the cardiac regenerative potential of neonatal large mammals. Acknowledgement/Funding Co-financed by Greece and the European Union - European Social Fund

Health and social welfare professionals’ self-rated competence and feedback following a simulation-based coaching intervention in small and medium-sized enterprises

Objective: To examine how health and social welfare professionals in small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) rated their theoretical, practical, and interaction competencies following simulation-based coaching, and to collect feedback for the coaching intervention.Methods: This quantitative survey is part of a wider research and development project conducted in Finland in the years 2017-2019 with assistance from the European Social Fund and carried out in collaboration between two educational institutions. Respondents were 107 nurses and other health and social care professionals in 20 SMEs. Data collection took place using an online questionnaire in May 2019. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS for Windows 25.Results: The great majority of the participants were satisfied with the coaching intervention. Respondents rated their theoretical, practical, and interaction competencies as good. They also felt confident about their skills in learning, problem-solving, and action-based learning. Among the most salient learning needs were the use of digital tools, social media, and electronic learning environments, and the need to practice remote counseling.Conclusions: The results indicate a need to provide continuing education on information and communication technology for health and social welfare professionals in small and medium-sized companies.

Acción conjunta intergeneracional (acig). Descripción de variables intervinientes

Con el objetivo de conocer los diferentes tipos de actividades conjuntas realizadas por miembros de distintas generaciones se administró un cuestionario online a un total de 2013 personas. De estos, 608eran hombres y 1405 mujeres. El cuestionario fue diseñado tras una revisión de los instrumentos empleados en el campo de trabajo intergeneracional en diversos estudios nacionales e internacionales. De manera online se estableció contacto con los posibles participantes para informarles sobre el propósito del estudio y solicitar su participación. Los encuestados dieron su consentimiento informado a participar en el trabajo. Una vez extraídos y codificados los datos se realizaron los análisis descriptivos (tablas de frecuencias y porcentajes, medias y desviaciones típicas) cuyos resultados presentamos a continuación. Durante el desarrollo de este trabajo se recibieron fondos a través de una ayuda destinada a financiar la contratación predoctoral de personal investigador por la Junta de Castilla y León (EDU/1083/2013), cofinanciada por el Fondo Social Europeo, dentro del Programa Operativo del Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) 2014-2020 de Castilla y León.

Extending classrooms through teacher collaboration in Virtual Learning Environments

ABSTRACT This paper explores arrangements and conditions enabling and constraining teacher collaboration to extend classrooms through Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). It draws implications from a participatory action research project in three small, rural Finnish schools funded by the European Social Fund (2015–2017). Data were mainly collected through discussions and interviews with five teachers. The theory of practice architectures serves as a theoretical and analytical framework. The collaboration challenged and enabled cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political arrangements on three levels. On a classroom level, the VLE enabled new teaching practices (e.g., student collaboration, formative assessment). However, a lack of digital competence among teachers and students hindered the cross-classroom collaboration. On a school level, the school leaders enabled or constrained the arrangements depending on the provided support or lack thereof (e.g., schedules, faculty involvement). On a regional level, the infrastructure (e.g., transportation) for collaboration would require arrangements developed in dialogue with the schools (e.g., digital systems). The paper concludes that changing teaching practices in relation to VLEs requires slowly evolving previous and new architectures simultaneously on all three levels.

Communication strategy in Primary Health Care plus project in Poland

The International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC) is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original articles in the field of integrated care on a continuous basis.IJIC has an Impact Factor of 5.120 (2020 JCR, received in June 2021)The IJIC 20th Anniversary Issue was published in 2021.

The European social fund in the Visegrad countries in the 2007-2013 programming phase

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to define the impact of the investment in training in education by the European Social Fund (ESF) in four Eastern countries, namely, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Hungary. Those countries have some political, cultural, social and economic similarities and share some common ground in the human resource development (HRD) sectors.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the human capital theory with some extensions to analyze the context, operations and impacts of the ESF in the Visegrad four (V4) countries between 2007 and 2013. The authors use three levels of methodology to access each one of those problems.FindingsThe authors conclude that the ESF helped building the vocational training system in those countries, and to help them get near the equilibrium of high skills of the V4 Western European neighbors, and therefore, this one was a success story. However, quality issues remain to be addressed that may hinder the continuation of the success in the future.Research limitations/implicationsThe research could be enlarged in time and space and deepened in terms of methodology. This is one a first clarifying step. Theoretical work should become aware of the dichotomy between absorption and scientific logic.Practical implicationsDetailed and precise evaluation practices must be implemented to guide and assess the policy.Social implicationsPrecisely because funds are scarce this paper enlights the dilemma and the tension between quantity and quality in the European HRD policy, this is an important social problem.Originality/valueThe study is original because even if the HRD in those countries had already been studied (Sheehan and Buchelt, 2016), no study analyzing specifically the ESF in those countries has been carried out so far. The authors use an innovative methodology and address questions on context, operations and impact, which are also innovative and very relevant.

Does facility birth reduce maternal and perinatal mortality in Brong Ahafo, Ghana? A secondary analysis using data on 119 244 pregnancies from two cluster-randomised controlled trials

SummaryBackgroundMaternal and perinatal mortality are still unacceptably high in many countries despite steep increases in facility birth. The evidence that childbirth in facilities reduces mortality is weak, mainly because of the scarcity of robust study designs and data. We aimed to assess this link by quantifying the influence of major determinants of facility birth (cluster-level facility birth, wealth, education, and distance to childbirth care) on several mortality outcomes, while also considering quality of care.MethodsOur study is a secondary analysis of surveillance data on 119 244 pregnancies from two large population-based cluster-randomised controlled trials in Brong Ahafo, Ghana. In addition, we specifically collected data to assess quality of care at all 64 childbirth facilities in the study area. Outcomes were direct maternal mortality, perinatal mortality, first-day and early neonatal mortality, and antepartum and intrapartum stillbirth. We calculated cluster-level facility birth as the percentage of facility births in a woman's village over the preceding 2 years, and we computed distances from women's regular residence to health facilities in a geospatial database. Associations between determinants of facility birth and mortality outcomes were assessed in crude and multivariable multilevel logistic regression models. We stratified perinatal mortality effects by three policy periods, using April 1, 2005, and July 1, 2008, as cutoff points, when delivery-fee exemption and free health insurance were introduced in Ghana. These policies increased facility birth and potentially reduced quality of care.FindingsHigher proportions of facility births in a cluster were not linked to reductions in any of the mortality outcomes. In women who were wealthier, facility births were much more common than in those who were poorer, but mortality was not lower among them or their babies. Women with higher education had lower mortality risks than less-educated women, except first-day and early neonatal mortality. A substantially higher proportion of women living in areas closer to childbirth facilities had facility births and caesarean sections than women living further from childbirth facilities, but mortality risks were not lower despite this increased service use. Among women who lived in areas closer to facilities offering comprehensive emergency obstetric care (CEmOC), emergency newborn care, or high-quality routine care, or to facilities that had providers with satisfactory competence, we found a lower risk of intrapartum stillbirth (14·2 per 1000 deliveries at >20 km from a CEmOC facility vs 10·4 per 1000 deliveries at ≤1 km; odds ratio [OR] 1·13, 95% CI 1·06–1·21) and of composite mortality outcomes than among women living in areas where these services were further away. Protective effects of facility birth were restricted to the two earlier policy periods (from June 1, 2003, to June 30, 2008), whereas there was evidence for higher perinatal mortality with increasing wealth (OR 1·09, 1·03–1·14) and lower perinatal mortality with increasing distance from childbirth facilities (OR 0·93, 0·89–0·98) after free health insurance was introduced in July 1, 2008.InterpretationFacility birth does not necessarily convey a survival benefit for women or babies and should only be recommended in facilities capable of providing emergency obstetric and newborn care and capable of safe-guarding uncomplicated births.FundingThe Baden-Württemberg Foundation, the Daimler and Benz Foundation, the European Social Fund and Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts Baden-Württemberg, WHO, US Agency for International Development, Save the Children, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the UK Department for International Development.