Subjective Reasons Research Articles

Where is the Ordinary? Understanding People’s Engagement in the Korean Peacebuilding

This article provides a nuanced explanation of the ways in which the ordinary activists engage with the Korean peacebuilding. By undertaking three years of field research and analyzing the collected data, we have found that two aspects of the engagement are of great importance. First, the ordinary activists understand peacebuilding as an embodiment of everyday identity and language. Second, they make use of peacebuilding as a realization of ordinary people power. Both aspects reflect the people’s subjective reasoning of who they are and what they can do in their conflict-affected daily lives. The findings are expected to flesh out the ongoing conversation of people-centred or everyday peacebuilding in the Korean peninsula.

O.5.1-8 Modal shift towards the e-bike: preliminary results from a systematic review on factors influencing the use of e-bikes

Abstract Background In the last decade, the use of electric bikes (e-bikes) has become increasingly common due to rapid advances in technology. This has led to an increased number of publications aimed at investigating individual factors and beliefs that influence a modal shift towards e-bikes. To our knowledge, there is currently no review summarizing the evidence on individual motivations, facilitators, and barriers for e-bike use. This review aims at providing an overview of the current state of the art regarding individual choices and intrinsic factors to change from other modes of transport to e-bikes. Methods Searching for the term e-bike its synonyms and permutations on the databases SCOPUS, PubMed, Web of Science, and PsychINFO resulted in a total of 3,317 hits after removing duplicates. Screening of title/abstract and full-text screening is currently being conducted independently by three researchers using Covidence. Studies reporting on personal decision-making factors and reasons for a modal shift to a private e-bike are considered eligible for inclusion in this study. Studies focusing on public e-bike services are excluded. Studies will be analyzed regarding (a) research quality, (b) factors and reasons for model shift, and (c) information about the investigated populations. Results Preliminary results show a substantial increase in scientific studies related to e-bikes. After the title and abstract screening, 121 studies were included for full-text screening. Preliminary results allow assumptions about two different aspects: (a) Most studies connected the modal shift to e-bikes to facilitators rather than to barriers. Financial, temporal and social factors, along with enjoyment, health and ease of commuting seem to be among the motivators to change to an e-bike as a means of transportation, (b) the majority of studies focused on middle-aged and older populations. Conclusion The identified articles and their summary show the increased relevance of e-bikes in current research and public health. Our results may contribute to understanding the subjective reasons why people change their mode of transport to the e-bike. This knowledge may be useful for implementing public health interventions, infrastructure developments, and policies. More research is needed to better understand these factors and their impact.

НЕ ИШЕМИЧЕСКИЕ ФЕНОТИПЫ ПАЦИЕНТОВ С ОСТРОЙ БОЛЬЮ В ГРУДИ ПО ДАННЫМ СТРЕСС-ЭХОКАРДИОГРАФИИ С ФИЗИЧЕСКОЙ НАГРУЗКОЙ

INTRODUCTION Acute chest pain is one of the most common caus­es for emergency medical care seeking. In some cases, it is considered as a manifestation of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, in patients with normal cardiac troponin (cTn) levels and a normal or non­diagnostic electrocardiogram (ECG) (non-ST eleva­tion ACS (NSTE-ACS) low-risk patients), the inci­dence of stenotic coronary atherosclerosis is not high. Stress echocardiography in this category of patients is indicated for ischemia visualization. Analysis of heart rhythm, ECG changes, systemic and intra­cardiac hemodynamics, in addition to assessing lo­cal contractility, allows us to identify other patholog­ical responses to stress. It is already known that their comprehensive assessment has predictive potential for long-term adverse events in patients with chron­ic coronary syndrome. THE AIM To identify non-ischemic phenotypes in low-risk patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syn­drome. MATERIAL AND METHODS A single-center, prospective, continuous study included 70 patients aged 54 (45; 63) years (60% men) hospitalized in the department of the region­al vascular center in 2022—2023 with acute chest pain, normal or non-diagnostic ECG, normal cTn level, low (< 3 %) GRACE risk and no restrictions for exercise stress echocardiography. The patients had not previously verified coronary heart disease (which was an inclusion criterion) and had no wall motion abnormality at rest. Stress echocardiography on a horizontal bicycle ergometer was performed in the first 2 (0; 3) days of the hospital period. The tests were carried out in the absence of rhythm­slowing therapy. The results of tests completed ear­ly for subjective reasons (muscle fatigue, failure) were not included in further analysis. To determine patient phenotypes based on stress echocardiogra­phy data, pathological responses to stress in the form of dichotomous variables were used to perform clus­ter analysis. The final group consisted of 50 of a non­ischemic phenotype — those who did not belong to the cluster, which was characterized by the high­est frequencies of wall motion abnormality, ST seg­ment depression > 1 mm, and angina. To determine the potential significance of the identified pheno­types, the cardiac performance reserve (P/m) was ad­ditionally determined as the difference in P/m val­ues, calculated using the formula 0,222 - CO - APBmean LVM where CO — cardiac output; APBmean — mean arterial blood pressure; LVM — left ventricular mass), at peak load and at rest. RESULTS Four patient phenotypes were identified that dif­fered statistically significantly (p < 0.05) in terms of exercise tolerance, volumetric contractile reserve and heart rate reserve. Type 1 (n = 17) was character­ized by a high frequency of combined decreases in all 3 indicators; type 2 (n = 11) — by the decreased ex­ercise tolerance and heart rate reserve, normal con­tractile reserve; type 3 (n = 11) — by normal exercise tolerance and heart rate reserve, but decreased con­tractile reserve; type 4 (n = 11) — by normal exer­cise tolerance, contractile reserve and heart rate re­serve. The decrease in contractile reserve (types 1 and 3) was consistent with a statistically significant lower increase in left ventricular ejection fraction at peak exercise (5 (2; 7) vs. 12 (8; 13), respective­ly; p < 0.001) and P/m reserve (1.0 (0.6; 1.4) versus 1.3 (1.1; 1.6), respectively; p = 0.010). Patients with decreased contractile reserve were statistically signif­ icantly older (60 (48; 68) vs. 47 (43; 54) years, re­spectively; p = 0.003). Type 4 included predominant­ly men (91 %). For type 2, no statistically significant differences in the clinical and demographic data of pa­tients were identified. CONCLUSION In the structure of patients with low-risk pa­tients with NSTE-ACS, the phenotypes are identi­fied that are determined by a decrease in exercise tol­erance, contractile deficiency and chronotropic re­serve. Phenotypes are characterized by different levels of P/m reserve and may differ in the frequency of ad­verse events in the long-term period, and a decrease in contractile and heart rate reserve can be considered as potential targets for personalized therapy, however, in the diagnostic algorithm for ACS this remains a top­ic for further research.

USSURIAN ENTOMOLOGICAL EXPEDITIONS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USSR (1926-1929)

Objective and subjective reasons are considered, due to which highly qualified zoologists-systematists of the Zoological Museum of the Academy of Sciences from Leningrad in 1926-1929. for the first time organized a number of scientific expeditions to the Far East. The composition of their participants has been specified. The author notes that in this case an important role was played by the extraordinary entomological collections from the Southern Primorye, made by the young A.I. Kurentsov. For reference, expedition reports are cited, taken from almost a century of publications, including translations from German.

Algebra Reasoning Ability Viewed From Student Gender Differences

Algebraic reasoning skills are important for students to master, with algebraic reasoning students are able to solve everyday problems in algebraic form. Gender is one of the factors that differentiates students' reasoning abilities in solving math problems. This study aims to describe algebraic reasoning in terms of gender differences. This type of research is qualitative with research subjects of four students taken from 31 students, Middle School class VIII by selecting two female students and two male students based on the average score level of each gender in solving System of linear equations of two variables questions based on indicator of algebraic reasoning ability. Data collection techniques in this study were tests, interviews and documentation. The results of this study indicate that the algebraic reasoning of female subjects is higher than that of male subjects. Some of the factors for the low algebraic reasoning of the subject include: the subject is not careful and forgets the formulas that have been taught.

Optimization consensus analysis for group decision making in view of non-transferable and transferable allocation schemes

Most practical decision-making problems commonly contain several alternatives evaluated by more than one decision maker (DM) according to the built criteria system. It is known as multi-criteria group decision making problems. The decision-making results should be based on highly similar individual opinions to derive the most suitable choice. Nevertheless, the divergence of individual judgments is usually significant due to various subjective and objective reasons. In this case, some DMs need to modify their judgments to derive final results, the consensus adjustment in group decision making. Like supply chain management, the centralized consensus process can minimize individual adjustments under the set consensus condition. Based on the hypothesis of rational humans that individuals always pursue maximum benefits, this paper proposes an iterative consensus process in a centralized environment. According to non-consensus adjustments, the iterative procedure contains non-transferable and transferable two parts. When the non-transferable consensus adjustment procedure is completed, the transferable consensus adjustment procedure is activated using an asymmetrical Nash bargaining game allocation mechanism. Additionally, a case study is provided to demonstrate the efficaciousness and practicality of the new method. Meanwhile, sensitivity and comparison analyses are done.

Screening of malignant neoplasms: the state of the problem in Russia and the world

A number of objective and subjective reasons, such as aging of the population, environmental, economic and other factors, determine the trend of increasing incidence of malignant neoplasms worldwide. According to GLOBOCAN 2020 forecasts, in the coming years, prostate, lung and bronchial cancer, colorectal cancer will account for almost half (48%) of all cases of the disease in men, of which 27% are prostate cancer. In women, breast cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer will account for about 51% of all new diagnoses, while breast cancer alone will account for about 30%. In 2021, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation approved the Procedure for preventive examinations and medical examinations, within the framework of which screening measures for early detection of oncological diseases are carried out, the procedure for dispensary observation of certain groups of the adult population by specialist doctors is approved, the duration, frequency of dispensary observation, the scope of preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitation measures are determined. The aim of the review: to present epidemiological data on the most common forms of cancer in Russia and the world; current recommendations on the organization of screening and its informative value; primary prevention measures.

WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP – A PROMISING POTENTIAL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The paper describes development trends of women’s entrepreneurship in the second half of the XIX century and in the beginning of the XX century, which are established on the basis of statistic materials, measures taken by the country leaders and the facts, which are of interest for the readers. It is noted that with the transition to market conditions, women’s business developed in the form of “shuttle” business, which, to some extent, mitigated the shortage of consumer goods and helped “shuttle” entrepreneurs and those who provided them with infrastructure to survive. The shuttle business, which was mainly women’s business, helped create initial capital for the further development of women’s classic entrepreneurship. Statistical materials show that the development of women’s business in the subsequent period was notable for its intensity regardless of objective and subjective reasons that created difficulties for female entrepreneurs. The research was carried out as part of a project funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP14871920).

Medical (doctor’s) error: concept and causes of its occurrence

The concept of “medical (doctor’s) error” is analysed from the doctrinal standpoint. The existing approaches (legal and medical) to defining the legal nature of a medical (doctor’s) error have been considered. It has been argued that this topic is of great theoretical and practical importance, since errors and negligence of doctors and medical staff can cause irreparable harm to patients' health or lead to death. The problem is complex, because it requires both medical and legal knowledge, and is related to the most important and difficult issue of qualifying certain acts. It has been concluded that the term “medical (doctor’s) error” is the most appropriate one, but it is absent in Ukrainian legislation. It has been proposed to introduce appropriate amendments to the legislation in the field of medicine and to enshrine the concept of “medical (doctor’s) error”, types and causes of its occurrence legally. The main characteristics of the category of medical (doctor's) error have been substantiated, and its content has been defined.
 The reasons for the occurrence of medical errors have been analysed. The subjective and objective reasons that influence the actions (inaction) of doctors and medical professionals have been identified. The classification of medical (doctor’s) error according to various criteria has been studied. Certain types of such errors are identified, in particular: diagnostic; therapeutic and tactical; technical; organisational; deontological.
 A legal assessment of a medical (doctor’s) error as one of the possible grounds for civil liability has been provided. It has been substantiated that the liability of a doctor and medical staff depends on the presence of fault in their actions and the qualification of the negative result of medical care. In addition, scientifically grounded proposals and recommendations for improving the civil legislation of Ukraine in the field of medical activity have been provided.

The University and City Images for Migration of Nonresident Students: a Regional Case

The global digital transformation of the economy requires a new look at the information basis for making managerial decisions on the problem of uneven distribution of universities across Russian regions. It involves the creation of a data bank on key issues of Russian higher education. One of these indicators may be the subjective reasons for the attractiveness of territories for applicants/students/graduates in terms of the significance of images of the university and city of study, as well as factors influencing educational migration. The goal is to show, using the example of a separate case, the role played by the images of the university and the city in the choice of a university, adaptation and postgraduate migration of students from other cities (coming from Russian cities and villages). The theoretical framework of the study is built by synthesizing the theories of “spirals” about the third function of higher education, and the theory of the image of the territory in relation to educational migration. The analysis involves statistical data on the socio-economic situation in Russian regions that attract educational migrants, and the results of a survey of out-of-town students of Kazan Federal University.The study found that both the university and the city are equally important bases for educational strategies for the majority of applicants. During their studies, they, like those who came to study only because of the university or just because of the city, consolidate the image of Kazan as a student territory with rich infrastructure and quality life, a sense of belonging to the capital of Tatarstan, positive assessments and a desire to recommend it to friends for moving. However, the reasons for educational migration and the perception of Kazan do not affect the postgraduate plans of students. Regions that are able to attract applicants and retain students after graduation – Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, Sverdlovsk and Novosibirsk regions – benefit from Tatarstan due to the fact that they offer more favorable living conditions and a larger range of offers on the market work for young professionals.The practical significance of the work lies in the position on the importance of combining the policies of shaping the images of the university and the city, not only to attract talented youth, but also to improve the third mission of Russian universities in terms of their inclusion in the development of urban activities among students, the use of the intellectual potential of higher education for socio-economic development of territories.

The republic of Vietnam government’s policies on the economic activities of the Chinese in Vietnam (1955–1975)

This article presents the policy of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam (RoV) to manage the economic activities of the Chinese community in South Vietnam. In particular, the study highlights the objective and subjective reasons that prompted the ROV government to adopt stringent measures to limit the influence of the Chinese and points out the benefits and limitations of these measures. Lessons learned from the Chinese community's economic management policies from 19551975 also help researchers to propose Party and state ethnic policy programs and policies toward the Chinese in particular, and nationwide ethnic minorities in general.

ФЕНОМЕН ОБНУЛЕНИЯ КАК МОДУС ИГРАИЗАЦИИ

The article explores the categories of zeroing the result of activity, as well as the connection with imitation and abnegism. The objective and subjective reasons for zeroing are identified, while the nonlinear nature of the manifestation of the phenomenon at different stages of socialization is noted.

Профессиональная культура в процессе институализации и семейной преемственности

The article examines some aspects of professional culture, as well as the importance of family succession (dynasties) in the process of inheritance of its peculiar values. Relevance of research approaches due to the insufficiency of theoretical reflection on professional culture in the system of cultural coordinates as a social construct, as well as the role of ethical norms and rules related to labor activity, developed by professionals “from below”, relying on the objective and subjective actions of the regulator “from above”. The analysis of general and special features of professionalism in various spheres of human activity made it possible to identi-fy factors that have a decisive impact on the processes of formation, transformation and support of profession-al culture. Using the data of empirical studies, the motives for supporting professional family succession due to objective and subjective reasons were systematized, as well as methods and forms of transferring cultural pro-fessional capital from older dynasty representatives to younger ones.

P-032 Exploration of the common genetic landscape of COVID-19 and male infertility

Abstract Study question What is the cross-talk molecular mechanisms between COVID-19 and male infertility? Summary answer The present study identified and validated hub COVID-19-related differentially expressed genes (CORGs) in COVID-19 and male infertility, and systematically explored molecular interactions and regulatory features. What is known already COVID-19 has spread widely across continents since 2019, causing serious damage to human health. Accumulative research uncovered that SARS-CoV-2 poses a great threat to male fertility. SARS-CoV-2 has been confirmed to exist in semen specimens and seminiferous tubes in the testes of male COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 had an unfavorable influence on the semen parameters in infertile men, including sperm count, motility, and morphology. Male infertility (MI) is a common comorbidity for the COVID-19 pandemic. Study design, size, duration The study included the bioinformatic calculation, participant recruitment, specimen collection, and experimental validation in the university hospital. Participants/materials, setting, methods Four transcriptome data regarding COVID-19 and male infertility were downloaded from the GEO repository, and were divided for initial analysis and external validation. Differentially expressed genes analysis, GO and pathway annotation, PPI network, connectivity ranking, ROC analysis, and immune infiltration were performed to gain hub CORGs. We recorded medical information of COVID-19 patients with male infertility and matched controls, and harvested their sperm samples. Expressions of hub CORGs were detected through the qRT-PCR technique. Main results and the role of chance We identified 460 overlapped CORGs in both the COVID-19 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and MI DEGs. CORGs were significantly enriched in DNA damage and repair-associated, cell cycle-associated, ubiquitination-associated, and coronavirus-associated signaling. Module assessment of PPI network revealed that enriched GO functions were closely related to cell cycle and DNA metabolism processes. Pharmacologic agent prediction displayed protein-drug interactions of ascorbic acid, biotin, caffeine, and L-cysteine with CORGs. After connectivity ranking and external validation, three hub CORGs (ENTPD6, CIB1, and EIF3B) showed good diagnostic performance (area under the curve > 0.75). Subsequently, three types of immune cells (CD8+ T cells, monocytes, and macrophages M0) were dominantly enriched, and 24 transcription factor-CORGs interactions and 13 miRNA-CORGs interactions were constructed in the network. Finally, qRT-PCR analysis confirmed that there were significant differences in the expression of hub CORGs (CIB1 and EIF3B) between the patient and control groups. Limitations, reasons for caution Diverse sequencing platforms and different ethnic subjects in the genetic data have influence on the accuracy of our analysis to some extent. Wider implications of the findings It is the first time for us to mine the genetic interrelationship between COVID-19 and male infertility. Our study provided new clues for the pathogenesis of these two diseases, and shared emerging potential biomarkers and drug targets for COVID-19-associated male infertility. Trial registration number National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82201758, No. 81700667, and No. 82201775)

Sentence to serfdom. Review of the book: Dolgikh A. N. "Tinderbox under the state": ways of solving the peasant question in Russia in the epoch of Nicholas I. Historiographical essays. Lipetsk: lgpuim. Semenovtyan-shansky, 2022. 478 p.

Introduction. The article is devoted to the review of the book of Doctor of Historical Sciences Professor Arkady Dolgikh about the history of serfdom. Today, the agrarian theme is one of the most important topics for understanding the historical process that has taken place on the territory of the Russian state since the formation of the Muscovite state in the 15th-16th centuries. and up to the 20th century.Materials and methods. The technique of the article is connected with the analysis of the article from general historical positions. The fundamental importance of the question of serfdom lies in the fact that this phenomenon has dragged on considerably. Obviously, it interfered with the full development of Russia, turning most of its population into a mass, devoid of any interest in the results of their own work, which means that it formed entire generations of people deprived of an active life position with a low level of political culture and education.Results. There is no doubt that the reforms carried out by Peter I, which almost completely subordinated all the estate groups of the country to the interests of the state, needed to be adjusted after the end of the Northern War and the introduction of a new poll tax. The ruling circles of Russia, for the most part, were aware of the importance of this adjustment and the danger of stagnation of the serf regime, but until 1861 no one dared to do this due to various subjective and objective reasons. As a result, literally every year a real ―powder magazine‖ grew and increased in size under the building of the House of Romanov, which not only interfered with the full development of their state, but also doomed it to death.Conclusion. The author of the review comes to the conclusion that the new book on serfdom shows the importance of this problem and once again reminds the reader of this phenomenon as a terrible evil hindering the development of Russia.

Patterns in counselling services provided at Saudi Ministry of Health medication counselling clinics – Reasons for referrals and subjects discussed: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundPharmacists provide medication counselling services to improve patient knowledge and their adherence to prescription instructions, and to achieve the best possible health-related outcomes. Our study aim was to describe the patterns of the reasons for referral to counselling and the subjects discussed between pharmacists and patients, and the possible associations related to the susceptible patient groups (chronic and elderly), in Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) medication counselling clinics. MethodThis was a descriptive cross-sectional study. An electronic data collection form was developed to document details about the medication counselling services that were provided to patients. The form consisted of three main areas: (1) patient demographics and counselling services characteristics; (2) reasons for referrals to the medication counselling clinics; and (3) the subjects that were discussed between pharmacists and patients in the counselling session. A comparison was conducted between chronic and non-chronic, and elderly and non-elderly patients. ResultsFrom May 2020 to December 2021, a total of 36,672 counselling service sessions were provided to 28,998 patients. The greatest proportion of reasons for referrals to counselling was that patients had chronic diseases (50.84%), patients were added a new medication (33.69%) or patients received multiple medications (polypharmacy) (22.71%). The most frequent subject discussed during counselling was general knowledge about medication (85.62%), the duration of therapy (68.42%) and the action that patients should take if they missed a dose of their medication (44.51%). Patients with chronic diseases showed a significantly greater frequency of referral to counselling compared to patients without chronic disease, due to polypharmacy, medication use during Ramadhan, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), dosing/interactions, high-alert medication and suspected nonadherence (P < 0.001). This led to a significantly greater frequency of discussions with patients with chronic conditions about their general medication knowledge, the duration of their therapy, missed doses, ADRs, medication reconciliation and medication use during Ramadhan (P < 0.001). Elderly patients recorded significantly more referrals to counselling related to chronic diseases and polypharmacy than their younger counterparts (P < 0.001); however, there was no significant difference between the elderly and non-elderly in the patterns of subjects discussed that were related to polypharmacy and chronic disease consequences. A significant spike was also reported in the frequency of delivery of counselling services to caregivers for the elderly (P < 0.001). ConclusionThe current state of medication counselling services in Saudi MOH facilities indicates that chronic disease and polypharmacy are the most significant reasons for referral to counselling, and that the subjects discussed the most during counselling are general knowledge about medication, duration of therapy and missed doses. Patients with chronic diseases have a higher frequency of referral to counselling and discussion about polypharmacy and its consequences than those without chronic conditions. Elderly patients also show a high frequency of referral to counselling about chronic diseases and polypharmacy. Caregivers of elderly patients require more education to maximise counselling effectiveness as they attend the majority of elderly patient counselling sessions.

Computer-assisted planning and patient-specific plates in orthognathic surgery: a global study

Using computer-assisted surgery (CAS) and patient-specific plates (PSP) in orthognathic surgery has shown improved accuracy and efficiency compared with traditional techniques. This study analyzed current global trends in planning and investigated the reasons for CAS and PSP use. A survey of 29 multiple choice questions was distributed to AO Foundation Craniomaxillofacial e-mail subscribers biweekly between July 14, 2021 and September 2, 2021. Questions focused on specifics of respondents' preoperative workup, methods of data collection, and the use of cutting guides and patient-specific plates. Objective clinical outcomes and subjective surgeon reasons for use were also investigated. Of the 557 responses, 420 (75.4%) participant responses were eligible for analyses. Most (302/420, 71.9%) respondents used CAS when performing orthognathic surgery, although regional differences were observed. Almost all respondents in North America implemented CAS in their surgery plan (44/46, 95.7%) compared with only 47.4% (18/38) in the Middle East/North Africa. Surgeons with 10 to 15 years of experience were far more likely to incorporate CAS. More than half (175/301, 58.1%) of CAS users also used PSP, of which 43% (68/158) did so for maxillary-only cases, 3.2% (5/158) used PSP for mandible-only surgeries, and 42.4% (67/158) used PSP for both. Surgeons' primary reasons for using CAS and PSP were accuracy (200/253, 79.1%), efficiency (196/253, 77.5%), and ease of preoperative planning (150/253, 59.3%). Most (77.9%) surgeons perceived that CAS was equal to or faster than traditional surgery. Our study shows differences in use regionally and with surgeon experience. Surgeons primarily use CAS and PSP in orthognathic surgery to increase accuracy and efficiency, minimize intraoperative deviations from the surgical plan, and reduce total surgical time.

EFFECTS OF DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENTS ON THE ECONOMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

The aim of the paper is to investigate and provide an argumentative explanation of the effects that direct foreign investments have on selected macroeconomic indicators in the Republic of Croatia in the period from 2000 to 2020. This paper analyses the effects that direct foreign investments have had and are having on selected macroeconomic indicators of the Republic of Croatia over a 20-year time series. Most often, advocates of a greater inflow of FDI argue their positions with GDP growth, higher employment, price stability, increased exports of goods and services, and a generally better standard of living for Croatian citizens. The very entry into the Union created numerous advantages for Croatian companies, facilitated the exchange of goods with the members, but did not bring the expected influx of investments. Of the desired numerous greenfield and brownfield investments and mergers and acquisitions of companies, the realization was below expectations due to the stated objective, but also numerous subjective reasons. More precisely, investments have arrived in tourism and trade, but have been absent in basic industry and agriculture. The developments that have been observed in recent years will certainly, in addition to attracting foreign capital, contribute to the Croatian economy, especially in the IT field and green technologies. Investment experience so far shows that in the Republic of Croatia, most foreign investments have been reduced to the purchase of majority ownership in domestic vital companies, which has resulted in job reductions, disincentives for exports, and impairment of national competitiveness. In the sense of the above, the starting hypothesis of the work is: based on the knowledge of the theoretical characteristics of foreign direct investments and the functioning of the movement of international capital and technology transfer, the importance of foreign direct investments for the economy of the Republic of Croatia can be presented. In the analytical part of the paper, statistical methods of linear regression and correlation were used to analyse the influence of direct foreign investments on GDP, employment, long-term interest rate and current account of the balance of payments. The basic research results show that there is a clear and moderate connection between FDI and GDP. The conclusion of the research in the paper emphasizes how the beneficial effect of the inflow of FDI on the gross domestic product indirectly or directly positively affects employment, long-term interest rates and the balance of payments of the Republic of Croatia. Based on the analysis carried out, it can be stated that foreign direct investments can bring improvement to the national economy only when; if they target more advanced industries so the potential technological spillovers are greater, if they establish strong ties with domestic companies that can absorb spillovers in such a way, if part of the production is exported which has a positive effect on the balance of payments and if they motivate domestic companies to follow them.

Women’s subjective perceptions and background factors associated with poor maternal childbirth experience among induced and spontaneous onset of labour: a two-year tertiary hospital cohort study

BackgroundWomen undergoing induction of labour (IOL) more often have poor childbirth experience compared to women with spontaneous onset of labour (SOL). For understanding and optimizing childbirth experience in IOL, we investigated the subjective maternal reasons and perceptions leading to poor childbirth experience in IOL compared to SOL, as well as the background factors and delivery outcomes associated with the poor experience.MethodsTwo-year retrospective cohort study included 836/19442 deliveries (4.3%) with poor childbirth experience in induced or spontaneous onset at term in Helsinki University Hospital. Poor childbirth experience occurred in 389/5290 (7.4%) cases of IOL and in 447/14152 (3.2%) of SOL. Childbirth experience was measured after delivery using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, with poor experience defined as VAS < 5. The primary outcome of the study were the maternal reasons for poor childbirth experience. The parameters were collected in the hospital database and statistical analyses were performed by using Mann–Whitney U-test and t-test.ResultsThe subjective maternal reasons for poor childbirth experience were pain (n = 529, 63.3%), long labour (n = 209, 25.0%), lack of support by care givers (n = 108, 12.9%), and unplanned caesarean section (CS) (n = 104, 12.4%). The methods of labour analgesia were similar among the women who expressed pain as the main reason compared with those who didn’t. When comparing the reasons according to the onset of labour, IOL group more often reported unplanned CS (17.2% vs. 8.3%; p < 0.001) and lack of support by the care givers (15.4% vs. 10.7%; p = 0.04), while SOL group more often named pain (68.7% vs. 57.1%; p = 0.001) and rapid labour (6.9% vs. 2.8%; p = 0.007). In multivariable logistic regression model, IOL was associated with lower risk for pain compared to SOL (adjusted OR 0.6, 95%CI 0.5–0.8; p < 0.01). Primiparas more often reported long labour (29.3% vs. 14.3%; p < 0.001) and concern over own or baby’s wellbeing (5.7% vs. 2.1%; p = 0.03) compared to multiparas. Women who feared childbirth more often reported lack of support compared to women with no fear (22.6% vs. 10.7%; p < 0.001).ConclusionThe main reasons for poor childbirth experience were pain, long labour, unplanned CS and the lack of support by care givers. The childbirth experience is complex and could be optimized by information, support and presence of care givers especially in induced labour.

Organizational Justice on Employee Procrastination: a Moderated-Mediation Model of Job Satisfaction and Psychological Contract Breach

Purpose: This research aimed to explain: (1) the role of job satisfaction as a mediator of the effect of organizational justice on job procrastination behavior, and (2) psychological contract breach as a moderator of the effect of organizational justice on job satisfaction and procrastination behavior.. . Theoretical framework:. Procrastination is the behavior of delaying starting work or tasks, or delaying completing a task that does not need to be postponed (Ferrari, 2023). Some people intentionally procrastinate for various subjective reasons, such as laziness or boredom. Delaying work due to this intentional element is often called procrastination (Ferrari, 2023). Most research on factors that influence procrastination behavior focuses more on individual factors; therefore, few include social relationship factors such as organizational justice and psychological contract breach.. Perceived organizational justice is one of the organizational factors that can be investigated from sociology and organizational behavior. Design/methodology/approach: This research was conducted through a survey of 195 education staff civil servants at three state universities in Indonesia. The data analysis used AMOS 17.0 Findings: The results found that organizational justice did not directly affect procrastination behavior but through the mediation of job satisfaction. The psychological contract breach was proven not to moderate the effect of organizational justice on job satisfaction. This research was conducted on education staff with civil servant status in state universities Research, Practical &amp; Social implications: This research implication that an informal-unwritten work contract arrangement through a psychological contract will be effective according to the characteristics of the job and the organization. This study compares the effect of organizational justice on job satisfaction and procrastination behavior in the context of formal and informal contract arrangements. Originality/value: This study was motivated by two research gaps. First, a study on the effect of organizational justice on previous procrastination behavior showed a low R-square of 0.292 (Karimi &amp; Andam, 2016). The resulting very low R-square number indicated that the effect was weak, thus it is necessary to have other variables that mediate or moderate to improve the results. Based on behavioral theory, there is a need for research that examines the role of job satisfaction in mediating the effect of organizational justice on procrastination behavior.