Organizational Difficulties Research Articles

“Routes of Friendship”: Organization of International Tourism in Countries of Socialist Camp in 1950-1980s

The institutional foundations, organizational features, the main trends and problems of cooperation between European member states of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in the field of international tourism in the second half of the 1950s — 1980s are described in the article. Specific examples show the formula for building bilateral cooperation in this area, as well as organizational principles and main directions of work of special annual meetings of tourist operators and government agencies in the field of tourism. Particular attention is paid to the description of the mechanisms of mutual settlements between socialist countries for the rendered mutual tourist services, including in a non-currency form. Based on the analysis of publications of the Soviet period and archival sources, the author concluded that syncretism of economic, economic and ideological approaches was characteristic of large-scale international tourist exchange between European socialist countries, and the Soviet Union played not so much the role of a “big brother” with a decisive vote as an ideological “mentor”. It is emphasized that, despite the declaration of the systemic advantages of “socialist tourism”, in general, it was characterized by numerous organizational difficulties.

Does COVID-19 Affect Survival and Functional Outcome in Emergency and Urgent Neurosurgical Procedures? A Single-Center Prospective Experience During the Pandemic

ObjectiveTo assess organizational and technical difficulties of neurosurgical procedures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and their possible impact on survival and functional outcome and to evaluate virological exposure risk of medical personnel.MethodsData for all urgent surgical procedures performed in the COVID-19 operating room were prospectively collected. Preoperative and postoperative variables included demographics, pathology, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) and neurological status at admission, type and duration of surgical procedures, length of stay, postoperative KPS and functional outcome comparison, and destination at discharge. We defined 5 classes of pathologies (traumatic, oncological, vascular, infection, hydrocephalus) and 4 surgical categories (burr hole, craniotomy, cerebrospinal fluid shunting, spine surgery). Postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection was checked in all the operators.ResultsWe identified 11 traumatic cases (44%), 4 infections (16%), 6 vascular events (24%), 2 hydrocephalus conditions (8%), and 2 oncological cases (8%). Surgical procedures included 11 burr holes (44%), 7 craniotomies (28%), 6 cerebrospinal fluid shunts (24%), and 1 spine surgery (4%). Mean patient age was 57.8 years. The most frequent clinical presentation was coma (44 cases). Mean KPS score at admission was 20 ± 10, mean surgery duration was 85 ± 63 minutes, and mean length of stay was 27 ± 12 days. Mean KPS score at discharge was 35 ± 25. Outcome comparison showed improvement in 16 patients. Four patients died. Mean follow-up was 6 ± 3 months. None of the operators developed postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection.ConclusionsStandardized protocols are mandatory to guarantee a high standard of care for emergency and urgent surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personal protective equipment affects maneuverability, dexterity, and duration of interventions without affecting survival and functional outcome.

Remote Support for Adults with Intellectual Disability During COVID-19: From a Caregiver's Perspective.

The reality of people with ID changed during the pandemic COVID‐19. Most institutions supporting people with ID switched to remote work. This required some major adaptation to these individuals' new realities, their immediate families, and facility staff. Supporting and monitoring the quality of life of individuals with disabilities and their family members during a crisis is an essential topic of current research. This research project aimed to explore the experiences of parents of adults with ID in relation to remote support provided by public support agencies. In a qualitative study, the authors used semistructured individual interviews with caregivers of people with ID. Data analysis distinguished the following categories: parents as therapists, organization difficulties, material problems, lack of social contacts, positive solutions, and difficult behavior. The results show the difficulties of parents in balancing professional, domestic, and supporting tasks. The study was the first in Poland to report on the qualitative assessment of remote support for people with ID during COVID‐19. Further, more extensive research is needed to search for solutions that respect the rights of people with disabilities to professional support.

Teleophthalmology Service: Organization, Management, Actual Current Applications, and Future Prospects.

Teleophthalmology (TO) consists of the clinical and therapeutic approach to the patient (e-Health) using informatic and telecommunication systems. Already widespread worldwide, it aims to improve patient care, expand the healthcare offer, and access to medical care by reducing overall costs. Despite the organizational, legal, and management difficulties, the substantial economic investments necessary for the start-up of equipped structures and efficient territorial services are amply rewarded by economic results and optimal services for professionals and patients. This review specifically analyses the current scenario of teleophthalmology, the points for and against its application in different sociodemographic realities, and in particular, the current and future fields of use.

Mere Inventions of the Imagination

Mere Inventions of the Imagination

Exam preparation strategies and concerns of university students: gender and open access vs regulated system effects

The purpose of this study is to identify test preparation strategies and concerns of university students in the open and regulated education system. We surveyed 294 students (55.10% male, 44.90% female), 60.54% from the open access system, and 39. 46% from the regulated access system, four dimensions are measured: students' and parents' concerns about university education, constraints to effective academic performance, exam preparation strategies and factors affecting academic performance. The results show three main student concerns in both training systems: self-development, seeking new learning (84.35%) and graduation (73.13%). On the other hand, about half of the students (49.32%) feel that their parents are preoccupied with their studies and are stressed or bothered (31.29%) by their incessant advice. We have identified 15 types of difficulties that are sources of constraint on the efficiency of university student performance, grouped into three categories: cognitive difficulties (32.64%), teaching methods difficulties (30.57%) and organization difficulties of the training program (36.79%). One-fifth of students review every day, every course, and thus spend an average of half an hour to an hour (41%) per review day. However, female students spent significantly more time per day (+3 hours, p<.038) on course revision than their male colleagues. Analysis of students' exam preparation programs shows six preparation strategies, dominated by the reading method (28.90%) and course outlines (26.30%). In both training systems, half of the students were dissatisfied (52.38%) with their personal preparation methods, of which 71.22% were female students. These students also perceive that their exam review strategies are little or not effective (56.46%) of which 40.22% are female students significantly different from their male counterparts (p<.05). The majority of students (61.88%) in both training systems do not place importance on all training modules. This finding is more pronounced for males than females (40.51% vs 21.27%, p<.008, respectively), and higher in the OSA than in the RAS (46.41%, 15.47%, p<.008, respectively). The bivariate correlation analysis shows significantly positive coefficients between 1st and 2nd year university results year university (r = .428, p<, 000), and baccalaureate 's marks (r = .255, p<.019). We also identified five factors responsible for poor school grades. It is necessary to introduce cognitive and mental preparation approaches for students into the pedagogical system of university teaching and supervision in order to optimize the performance of students' results.

Some Tips on Numerical Modeling of Airflow and Fires in Road Tunnels

The efficiency of tunnels systems is often evaluated using numerical simulations. This concerns both to normal and emergency mode of tunnel systems operation. Therefore the safety level of tunnel users may depend on the quality of numerical models being built. The most often studied areas cover the researches on natural and forced airflows in the normal mode and on fire development and smoke spreading in the emergency mode as well as modeling of fan operation. Thus, many software packages implementing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are applied here. Despite the available software is recognized as reliable, the problem arises because the built numerical models should be validated at least partially with experimental data. There is a shortage of experimental data from real tunnels due to high costs and many organizational or formal difficulties. Some researchers use data from scaled experiments, but this leads to problems connected with scaling. The paper presents the application of two widely used software packages—Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and ANSYS Fluent to reproduce some scenarios of the operation of a tunnel ventilation system for normal and emergency mode. Most of results were compared with data obtained by own full scale measurements or data available in literature. Some practical issues concerning the application of FDS and ANSYS Fluent were discussed as well.

Clinical experiences in low-resource settings: Experience from Croatia

Croatian healthcare faced dramatic changes as a response to the ongoing pandemic, which further pressured financially loaded system. Besides, the capital of Croatia was hit by an earthquake that caused material damage and organizational difficulties. Contrary to the World Health Organization’s recommendations that mental health services are essential services to be maintained during the pandemic, there was severe disruption of utilization and accessibility to mental health services during the pandemic. In the beginning, the only services maintained were in-hospital and emergency services, while daily hospitals and ambulatory visits were disrupted. Psychiatric resources were not formally implemented in the treatment and management of COVID-19 and majority of mental health workers remained within the boundaries of psychiatric services. In the following period, some of the services reopened, with reorientation to online provision. However, the interference of services gradually occurred as the second wave started, with some psychiatric departments being repurposed for non-psychiatric use. Psychiatric care was organized in some of the COVID-19 departments as liaison service. Some of the psychiatric services offered consultation and prevention of burn-out for frontline personnel. Lastly, as the University hospital centre Zagreb was implementing the flexible assertive community treatment teams for persons with severe mental illness through the Large-scale implementation of community based mental health care for people with severe and enduring mental ill health in Europe (RECOVER-E) project in the period from 2018-2022, we investigated the effect of this service on the health outcomes during the pandemic and found it superior compared with the standard treatment.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Comprehensive image of state power as a tool of social management

Importance. The practice of recent years clearly demonstrates the tendency of the population to decline in confidence in the activities of the authorities. The further development of this process is unacceptable, since in such a case the work of all state structures becomes ineffective even if it is absolutely expedient and justified. The reasons for public distrust of the authorities can be divided into three groups: communicative, organizational and cultural-historical problems. Communicative problems arise due to violations or disregard for the requirements of communication theory. Organizational difficulties in the vast majority of cases are associated with the low qualification of specialists responsible for interacting with society (usually PR specialists or public relations specialists). Cultural and historical problems are due to the dominance in our society of an established model of behavior of citizens, which stably reproduces the situation of opposition to the authorities. In our opinion, the most significant group - communication problems - requires priority attention. Perpose. Communication problems arise from the misplaced positioning of power structures, that is, from the inability to clearly and arguably explain the significance and appropriateness of planned or already implemented measures. Accordingly, it is necessary to identify/develop, in a short time, technologies, methods and tools to eliminate communication barriers, and in some cases communication failures, public-governmental interactions. Research methodology. To achieve the goal, the author's approach was applied, which is based on the principles of systematics, flexibility, mobility and adequacy (they served as the basis for the need to develop an integrated image). The theoretical base is the works of domestic and foreign scientists in the field of public relations management [11,12,14,15,16,17,18,19]. Methods for the study of soft systems are used: theoretical typology, formal extrapolation, factographic methods based on information analysis (analogy method, content analysis), forsyth modeling (technology for working with images of the future. Results. In order to increase the rating of public confidence in the activities of state structures based on the study, systematization and analysis of the causes and consequences of communicative failures and barriers to effective interaction between these switches, an approach based on the principles proposed by the author (systematics, adequacy, flexibility, mobility) and the use of such a social management tool as image is proposed. An option of developing a comprehensive image of the state structure, including a corporate and personal image, has been proposed and justified. Its development technology is recommended, providing an integrated approach to solving the problem of effective interaction using modern public relations management tools.

Problems of Health Protection of Students with Health Limitations in Educational Institutions of the Russian Federation

Introduction. The current legal framework for the education of children with health limitations was created after the conceptual provisions and international acts to ensure equal children’s opportunities and access to free educational services without any type of discrimination. Regulatory documents contain the general rules for organization of educational activities and medical support in an educational institution, without specific recommendations for health strengthening and preservation of children with health limitations, taking into account the nature and severity of the disorder, as well as the combination thereof, which is a separate urgent state problem. This study was initiated to analyze the current situation with health protection of special needs children in educational institutions. The detection of organizational difficulties and legal restraints will allow to determine the remedial measures and prepare the proposals for the improvement of the educational system. Materials and Methods. The content analysis of the applicable regulatory legal documents of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation between 2012–2020 revealed urgent problems pertinent to the enforcement of legislative initiatives in the field of education and health protection of students with health limitations in various educational environments. Results. The study confirmed the hypothesis of the variability of the current organizational problems regarding health strengthening and preservation of students in an educational organization, including the weak legal and regulatory framework. The health-preserving environment of an educational organization is proved to have a combination of factors: availability of special educational and technical equipment to meet special educational needs of students, taking into account the severity of the physical dysfunction; the compliance of the tightness of timetable, number of lessons and the educational load with children’s health state and individual psychological capabilities; availability of separate rest and restoration rooms; availability of up-to-date rehabilitation equipment for health strengthening of children with health limitations in the educational institution’s environment; staffing with teachers and medical specialists who are aware of modern technologies of handling children with health limitations. Discussion and Conclusion. The study results can be facilitative of the development of the system of monitoring during the organization of the educational process and the variability of health protection conditions for students with health limitations in an educational organization as the method of prompt detection and elimination of adverse factors and, hence, mitigation of social risks and solving of one of the priority state tasks.

Zajęcia terenowe – szansa dla szkolnej edukacji geograficznej i wyzwania dla nauczycieli

Classes conducted in the field, thanks to a variety of educational functions, such as demonstrative learning of reality, shaping various skills and attitudes of students, are an opp ortunity for geographic education and showing geography as a useful subject in life. For many geography teachers, conducting fieldwork is a big challenge, mainly organizational. The aim of the research conducted by the authors was: a) learning the opinions of teachers about the difficulties in conducting geographical field classes and b) the legitimacy of their mandatory introduction to the new core curriculum. The article presents the results of a nationwide survey of geography teachers about fieldwork, which, according to the assumptions of the new curriculum, are to constitute an important element of geographic education. Research results indicate that teachers are full of concerns about readiness to conduct such classes, indicating organizational difficulties and deficiencies in methodical preparation. The effect of research is a conclusion about the need and possibilities to supp ort teachers in meeting this new challenge. The existence of the entries themselves in the core curriculum does not guarantee their implementation in the work with students.

Traffic Optimization Methods of Urban Multi-leg Intersections

The research on the organization of intersections has always been the key and difficult point of road optimization, especially for multi-leg intersections. Since the traffic flow direction and the number of conflict points of multi-leg intersection are more than that of ordinary intersection, the difficulty of organization and optimization increases accordingly. At present, the research on multi-leg intersections is not much or deep enough at home and abroad. In general, it is transformed into a roundabout when the traffic volume is small, and the signal lamp is set with the increase of traffic volume. However, the signalized roundabout is not applicable when the traffic flow at the signal roundabout increases to a certain extent. Therefore, this paper introduces Huangsha six import signal free roundabout in Dianjiang County of Chongqing as the research case, takes the traffic delay and queue length as the evaluation index, and two new optimization methods are proposed on the basis of the original methods, namely improved the signalized roundabout and the signalized intersection. To assess the feasibility of these methods, VISSIM is used for simulation comparison. The simulation results show that compared with the current traffic situation, the average delay time of vehicles in the signalized intersection optimization method is reduced by 9.3 s, the average queue length decreased by 3.7 m, and its indicators are better than the signalized roundabout. Therefore, the method of signalized intersection not only provides a good mirror for the reconstruction of multi-leg intersections, but also offers relevant theoretical and practical exploration.

The functioning of new legal regulations on health care for pupils in the practice of an educational setting nurse

Abstract Introduction. Recently, much attention and interest have been devoted to the health care of school children in Poland. The current status was critically assessed and new legal regulations were prepared to bring about improvement. Aim. The aim of this paper is to present the functioning of current legal regulations in the field of health care for school children in the practice of an educational setting nurse. Discussion. The new law gives every student of public and private, primary and secondary schools the right to seek the care of a nurse and a dentist. It specifies the principles of cooperation and exchange of information between medical staff, parents, school management and authorities running the facility. Health care for a student in a school environment is preventive, focused on maintaining health, early detection of diseases, treatment, care and prevention of disability. Conclusions. The nurse is a direct health care provider and is also assigned the role of coordinator of preventive care over the school student. However, school nursing practice entails many organizational difficulties on the part of the school environment, parents/ legal guardians, as well as the students themselves. New regulations, their frequent updates and amendments, and inconsistencies in various documents force nurses to keep track of the revisions in order not to exceed their competence in practice. The nurse is prepared for professional practice in terms of expertise and direction and is able to competently fulfill the difficult role of a child care coordinator in a school environment.

Difficulties in the Construction of Subway Tunnel Underpass Project and Research on Ecological Restoration Technology

Subway construction is a high-risk construction project, because there are many uncertain factors such as Undercrossing urban hinterland and geological conditions, which lead to the difficulty of organization and management and frequent safety accidents. Therefore, there is an urgent need for effective safety risk analysis model and risk management means to prevent accidents. Aiming at the mechanical problems of surrounding rock and supporting structure of subway tunnel under different construction methods, the dynamic numerical simulation of three pilot tunnel method and upper and lower step method is carried out by using finite element method. The transformation relationship between stress field and displacement field of subway tunnel under different construction procedures is established, and the two construction methods are compared. The test results show that the internal force, axial force and bending moment model of the subway tunnel support structure system established in this paper has a certain guiding significance for the design and safe construction of the subway tunnel.

Croatian LADM Profile Extension for State-Owned Agricultural Land Management

The paper presents a conceptual model for the disposition of state agricultural land. The model is made as an extension of the Croatian Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) country profile. The LADM 19152:2012 is an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard which provides a formal language to describe the basic information-related components of land administration. The aim of this research is to assess the possibility of using the LADM extension to efficiently manage state-owned agricultural land. Since more than half of state-owned agricultural land in Croatia is not activated, the priority is to increase usage and activate uncultivated agricultural land by users through disposition process. The disposition process is highly regulated and complex in procedures, and it poses difficulties for organizations in the implementation of disposition, so a model of successful management is necessary. The disposition process and the necessary steps are shown—mainly defined by legal regulations—and divided into two phases: the first phase is the development of the Program of Disposition of State-Owned Agricultural Land where the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) for land potential analysis is crucial; the second phase is the realization of the disposition. In line with the disposition process, a Unified Modeling Language (UML) model for this LADM extension on the conceptual level was developed and is presented herein. Finally, the improvement of the agricultural land management system and the related processes are reviewed.

ACTIVITIES OF THE ALL-UKRAINIAN NETWORK OF THE OBSERVATION POINTS (1920’S – 1930’S)

The article analyzes the history of formation and development of agricultural research work – a component of the culture of agronomy, which was considered the basis of the agriculture. Despite the organizational and financial difficulties, the research work had developed. The flourishing of research in Ukraine fell on 20-30’s of the 20th century. At this time in the agrarian science of Ukraine there were the significant scientific and organizational changes, as a result of which the priorities in the tasks of research institutions changed and practice began to dominate over theoretical developments. In the conditions of agriculture of the Ukrainian SSR, successful control of the pests and plant diseases was the key to ensuring a good harvest. But the struggle without knowledge of the conditions of development of the pests or pathogens of the plant diseases, was a measure only of a palliative nature. The correct and expedient control of the plant diseases required knowledge of the course of development of the disease, the time of its occurrence, the prevalence and harmfulness and many other aspects of biological and economic nature.

The impacts of health transformation plan on physiotherapy sector in Iran: a qualitative study using five control knobs

Purpose To investigate physiotherapists’, academics’, and relevant decision- and policy-makers’ experiences regarding the impacts of the Health Transformation Plan (HTP) on the physiotherapy sector in Iran. Materials and methods This qualitative study was conducted using in-depth semi-structured interviews. The participants were selected using both purposive and snowball sampling strategies with maximum diversity. The sampling procedure continued until data saturation was achieved. The collected data were analyzed using thematic content analysis in accordance with Braun and Clarke’s methodology. Results The findings showed that the physiotherapy sector has faced several challenges after the implementation of HTP in five control knobs: (1) financing (a decline in the government budget and insufficient health insurance coverage), (2) payment (delayed payments and setting a tight ceiling for reimbursements), (3) behaviors (a decrease in the motivation of physiotherapists, the tendency toward misbehaviors such as absenteeism and providers’ unwillingness to cooperate with insurance companies), (4) organization (difficulty in clinical education and ignoring the preventive effects of physiotherapy interventions), and (5) regulation (absence of stakeholders in political processes and inconsistency of upstream documents). Conclusion HTP has posed various challenges on the physiotherapy sector in Iran. Promoting the policymakers’ awareness and aligning the health reforms such as HTP with the current upstream documents would diminish the existing challenges. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION More government budgets and better insurance coverage are needed to strengthen the physiotherapy sector. Timely payment and modification of limitations for reimbursements of physiotherapy services are recommended. It is recommended to adopt strategies to increase the motivation of physiotherapists and reduce the risk of professional misconduct in the physiotherapy sector. Problems in clinical physiotherapy training should be addressed by policy-makers, and the preventive effects of physiotherapy interventions deserve more attention. Enhanced participation of physiotherapy stakeholders in relevant legislative processes is recommended to improve their services.

Prospects for the development of distance learning within the system of professional education

The object of this research is distance learning, while the subject is the organization of distance learning in professional educational institutions with a long-term view. The author emphasizes the relevance of this research in the real and hypothetical epidemic conditions. The current stage is viewed as a period of contemplation or reconsideration of distance learning. The article employs the methods of theoretical and empirical analysis. The results of sociological surveys conducted among the students, pedagogues, rectors and vice-rectors of the Russian universities are analyzed. The  author indicates the conservatism of the modern system of education, and the importance of interaction between the main actors of the educational process. The fundamental difficulties in organization of distance learning are outlined. The scientific novelty of consists in creation of the model of educational process based on the empirical data underlying the development of distance learning. It is demonstrated that the conduct scientific research, development of information technologies, and improvement of the normative framework open new opportunities for creating a more effective learning environment. The key moment in increasing the effectiveness of the new form of learning consists in reaching the full presence effect, which allows implementing the traditional pedagogical technologies. Description is given to the possibilities of telepresence technology. The conclusion is formulated that distance learning can be transformed into a new form in accordance with the status of technological and technical development.

Optical reconstructive surgery of the anterior segment of the eye in the far eastern federal district – achievements and unsolved problems

The aim was to analyze organizational and technical difficulties in introducing modern technologies of optical reconstructive surgery, and to find the options of their elimination.
 Materials and methods. Organizational arrangements to develop and to introduce into clinical practice modern technologies of optical reconstructive surgery in treatment of corneal opacities of different origin in the Khabarovsk branch of the S. Fedorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has been analyzed.
 Results and conclusions. An unified register of patients of the Far Eastern Federal district who need optical keratoplasty (bullous keratopathies, keratoconus stages 34, post-traumatic leukomas, hereditary corneal dystrophies) a waiting list has been created. The necessary equipment and instruments were acquired, 4 surgeons were trained who mastered the technologies of deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty and Descemet membrane transplantation along with penetrating keratoplasty. From 2014 to 2018, 160 optical keratoplasty were performed using donor material; by 2019, the need for this type of high-tech treatment has been reduced by 2 times. To date, more than 30% of optical keratoplasties are performed using lamellar technology. The organizational sequence of ordering biological material, performing surgeries; the postoperative care system is got up and running; the outpatient departmentsophthalmologists of the region are trained to use clear objective criteria for dynamic follow-up of these patients.

The new concept of laboratory support for educational institutions and scientific establishments

Purpose: To develop a new concept of laboratory support for learners at different levels of education to maintain a high education quality in conditions of limited opportunities, such as lockdown, lack of funding, etc. Design/methodology/approach: To create a new concept, the practical experience of school teachers, educators of technical colleges and universities, research workers, as well as experience of scientists in the educational field published in open information' sources was taken into account. The development of a new concept was carried out from 2014 to 2016, and its implementation, introduction into the educational process, and possible ways to solve technical and organizational difficulties from 2016 to the present. In the last year, special attention was paid to distance learning. Findings: The development and the first practical steps to implement the new concept of updating the laboratory support of educational institutions clearly demonstrate of its practical implementation' feasibility. Positive consequences from the implementation were identified as constant improvement of laboratory equipment, increase in the educators’ level, transformation of virtual distance learning based on lectures and videos into real learning with "live" visual demonstration of physical, chemical, biological and other processes and experimental research. As a recommendation, should wish that at the state level to recommend the implementation of this approach and to propose some legal mechanisms to overcome identified problems. Research limitations/implications: The present study was conducted for Ukrainian educational institutions with the involvement of foreign students from different countries studying in Ukraine. Practical implications: The introduction of a new concept into the educational process in countries with a weak economy will improve the educational quality and reduce the cost of creating laboratory support. Originality/value: Equipment should not only be a teaching tool, but also a teaching subject.