University Of Montenegro Research Articles

European Journal of Geography (Year 2023): Reviewer Appreciation & Publication Recap

European Journal of Geography (Year 2023): Reviewer Appreciation & Publication Recap

Student Perception on Data-Driven Learning

With the boosting of information technologies, language instructors and subject teachers have been provided with new opportunities in designing teaching materials and methods. Electronic corpora and available software solutions also provide easier access to professional material, both for teachers and their students. We, therefore, sought to explore the possibilities to utilize contemporary corpus linguistics methods in teaching technical vocabulary. Specifically, we conducted research with Marine Engineering students at the Faculty of Maritime Studies Kotor, University of Montenegro, during one academic semester. The method applied was the so-called Data-Driven Learning (DDL), which anticipates the student’s exposure to authentic professional material. In our specific case, it included an electronic corpus comprised of marine engineering instruction books on main engines made available to the students through the distance-learning Moodle platform. By the end of the experimental semester of teaching/learning technical vocabulary through homework assignments related to marine engineering instruction books and manuals, we conducted a semi-structured interview with the students in order to provide their feedback, impressions and suggestions. The obtained and processed data show their positive responses to corpus linguistics methods, especially towards professional material they will need to rely on during their future careers. The DDL method also proved to promote the students’ autonomy and help in overcoming differences in learning strategies, which recommends it as a solid foundation for the life-learning process of the seafarers-to-be.

History of education. State of the art in East and South East Europe: introducing the special issue

ABSTRACT This text introduces the special issue “History of Education. State of the art in East and South East Europe”. This issue includes some contributions that were originally presented in the international scientific conference entitled “History of Education as a Scientific Pedagogical Discipline and as a Teaching Subject – Past, Present and Perspectives” held in Montenegro (University of Montenegro) in 2019. These articles provide an overview of the history of education as a scientific discipline of education, as an academic discipline of pedagogy and as a field of pedagogical research from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century in Eastern and Southeastern European countries, highlighting its main development stages, problems, contexts, themes and actors.

IMPORTANCE OF TRANSLATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH FOR ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING -CASE STUDY-

Translation as a teaching and learning tool has not been fully approved in teaching English for general purposes (Duff, 1994); however, it is frequently used in teaching English for specific purposes (ESP), (Chirobocea, 2018). In order to analyze the importance of translation in teaching ESP, a case study was conducted aiming at analyzing the role and importance of translation exercises while using the ESP textbook “Oxford English for Electrical and Mechanical engineering” OUP and pointing out the advantages of using translation in teaching. During the winter term of 2021/22 academic year, 36 third-year students participated in a case study at the Faculty of Mechanical engineering, University of Montenegro. In their obligatory ESP course, they were taught English for Mechanical Engineering. At the end of the course, students were given a questionnaire to evaluate the quality and importance of all exercises applied (retelling, translation, grammatical exercises, reading comprehension, speaking, listening, and writing). Eventually, additional exercises that included translating sentences into English and from English were graded as one of the most efficient and, accordingly, the most important ones. Students were satisfied with the effects of applying translation exercises in the process of teaching and learning which has increased their motivation to use translation to a greater extent both in their future studies and in their future professional surroundings. Moreover, it is expected that translation exercises will raise students’ awareness of the importance of accuracy when using technical vocabulary in L1 and L2. Presently, domain experts translate scientific texts into and from English without consulting linguists and philologists of the Montenegrin language. This case study is the beginning of comprehensive research to be carried out among a greater number of students at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (Departments of Electronics and Energetics) and Faculty of Medicine (Departments of General Medicine, Stomatology and Pharmacy), University of Montenegro.

Assessment of FL Syllabi at Three Montenegrin Universities

One of the aims of the Erasmus+ ReFLAME project is to update the present foreign language (FL) syllabi at the non-philological departments at the three Montenegrin universities – the University of Montenegro (UoM), Mediterranean University (MedUni) and the University of Donja Gorica (UDG). To this end, the first task was to collect and assess all the first and second FL syllabi at the three Montenegrin universities. The analysis included examining the FL syllabi to provide the data regarding, among other things, the number of the syllabi collected, the faculties they are taught at, the foreign languages being taught, the number of general FL courses as opposed to FL for specific purposes courses, as well as the information on the textbooks and literature used. The results of the analysis of 226 FL syllabi, corresponding to 181 courses offered at 30 faculties at the three universities, show that the vast majority of these are taught at UoM (195), whereas 24 are taught at MedUni and 7 at UDG respectively. At UoM, 137 FL syllabi cover English, while 58 are related to other languages – Italian (14), German (14), Russian (14) and French (16). All of the overall 31 syllabi at MedUni and UDG pertain to English. A slightly higher number of the syllabi cover FL for specific purposes courses (113) compared to general FL courses (111), and only two pertain to FL for academic purposes courses. Most of the FL syllabi do not mention any exit level to be achieved, and thus are not in line with the Montenegrin Law on Higher Education (which stipulates a C1 exit level according to the CEFR). In terms of the textbooks and literature used, all the general FL courses are well equipped with appropriate textbooks. Nonetheless, there is a notable lack of adequate textbooks for FL for specific purposes courses in particular academic fields. This result was considered when making a decision on which LSP textbooks should be produced as part of the project. The overall findings of the FL syllabi analysis will also be of great use in the development stage of the project in which one of the tasks will deal explicitly with updating the current FL syllabi.

Teaching Italian for Specific Purposes at the University of Montenegro: Reality vs. Real Needs

Italian as a second foreign language at the University of Montenegro is studied within the programme of Undergraduate university studies both at the Faculty of Philology and at the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management. This paper aims to determine the extent to which the teaching of Italian corresponds to the real needs of the students related to the labour market, which they enter after completing their Bachelor’s degree. For this purpose, the paper presents the results of the analysis of the current syllabi of Italian as a second foreign language, which are linked to the results of the analysis of the attitudes and expectations of the students who take these courses. This analysis is based on the results of a survey conducted in the academic year 2020/2021, which had a total of 56 respondents. Based on the conclusions derived from the results of these two analyses, we will offer a set of guidelines for improving various aspects of the aforementioned university courses, so as to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for the effective use of Italian in the environment in which students are professionally engaged, while also taking into account the envisaged level of linguistic competence that is realistically achievable in the current teaching context.

CHRONIC PAIN IN STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTENEGRO-ATTITUDES AND EXPECTATIONS

Chronic pain is a significant health problem for university students. However, research on the impact of chronic pain on students is lacking, as well as the support they need to overcome the consequences of chronic pain. The goals of this research were to examine chronic pain in students of natural and social sciences at the University of Montenegro, to determine personal emotions, attitudes and expectations towards pain. Methods. Cross-sectional research was conducted among students from the first to the fifth year of the Faculty of Philosophy in Nikšić (Psychology, Teacher Education), the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Podgorica (Mathematics, Physics and Physiotherapy) and the Control Group (outside the University). A total of 1,500 students and the control group completed online questionnaire, of which 990 participants met the conditions). Statistical differences between groups, female and male individuals were tested using the chi-square test and t-test.( p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant).Results. In the observed groups of students of natural and social sciences there are differences in experiencing and describing pain. Social science students showed passivity in dealing with chronic pain. They prefer to leave the decision on the method of treatment to the doctor, and a third of them just take pills. Conclusions. By applying the obtained questionnaire, we can be determined different attitudes of students of natural and social sciences towards chronic pain, therapeutic approaches, as well as expectations. Students of natural sciences had more education about pain, so the emotion, attitude and approach to solving the problem was simpler.

Hybrid Twinning on Marine Engine Simulators

The notion of twinning can refer to a number of things. Here, however, we re-fer to the specific recommendation by the IMO Model Course 3.17 – Maritime English, as also discussed by a number of recognized Maritime English instructors, anticipating the teaming of English teachers with teachers of technical subjects held on marine simulators. This recommendation coincides with contemporary trends in teaching English for Specific Purposes, such as Content-Based Instruction, Content and Language Integrated Learning and/or English as a Medium of Instruction. In particular, we provide specific examples of hybrid twinning classes conducted on marine engine simulators at the Faculty of Maritime Studies Kotor, University of Montenegro. Additional possibilities and pedagogical implications of the presented and related activities are also offered. We hope they can be of assistance and inspiration to other teachers involved in maritime education for upgrading their teaching methodologies as it has been the case with the authors.

"The Importance of Involving Student Volunteers and Nursing Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic"

Damir Pelicic* Author Affiliations Clinical Center of Montenegro, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro, Montenegro Received: January 28, 2022 | Published: February 10, 2022 Corresponding author: Damir Pelicic, Clinical Centre of Montenegro, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro, Ljubljanska bb, Podgorica 20000, Montenegro DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2022.41.006657

Konzumiranje cigareta među studentima Univerziteta Crne Gore - prevalencija i pušačke navike

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cigarette consumption and the differences in smoking habits among university students aged 18-26 years from different faculties in Montenegro. Method. This cross-sectional study was conducted in University of Montenegro in Podgorica and the data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Results. The study enrolled 146 students of both genders (63 males and 83 females) with an average age of 21.63 ± 2.16 years. It was shown that overall prevalence of cigarette consumption was 52.05% among all participants i.e. 21.62% among the students of Faculty of Medicine (p < 0.001). Among the students who practiced smoking, 46.57% of them stated that it was in the period of high school. We did not estimate a significant difference in the daily smoking frequency (number of cigarettes per day) (p = 0.443). Also, study participants did not have a specific time during the day for cigarette consumption (67.20%). The largest number of students (40.70%) light the first cigarette more than half an hour after waking up. University students believed that cigarette smoking could help overcome stressful situations, and that it improved concentration and memory. Smoking status was found to be higher among the students of older age (p < 0.001) and advancing year of faculty (p = 0.002). The analysis showed no significant gender difference in smoking habits. Conclusion. Our investigation confirmed a high prevalence of cigarette consumption among university students in Montenegro, and therefore we recommend that appropriate programs for smoking prevention and cessation be developed.

Noticias

1.Fourth Biannual Conference of ATISA (American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association) "Meeting at the Border: Profile of the Language Mediator"April 3-5, 2008 atUniversity ofTexas atEl Paso. The American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association (ATISA) invites you to attend the fourth ATISA Conference, "Meeting at the Border: Profile of the Language Mediator." The conference will be held at the University of Texas-El PasoApril 3-5, 2008. 2.En la Universidad de Barcelona (Facultad de Filología) se ha celebrado el Seminario Internacional de Especialización “Traducir la diferencia”, del 18 al 20 de abril de 2007. 3.International Conference: "Languages and Cultures in Contact",Herceg Novi,Montenegro,September 16 - 18, 2007. The Institute of Foreign Languages, University of Montenegro, organizes the second conference on intercultural communication entitled "Languages and Cultures in Contact". The conference is aimed at bringing together theories and practices, linguistic research, translation practices, pedagogical principles and teaching experience in introducing intercultural communication in the teaching/learning process and literature as a means of promoting Intercultural communication. For further information about accommodation: http://www.institut.cg.yu

TREND database: Retinal images of healthy young subjects visualized by a portable digital non-mydriatic fundus camera.

Topological characterization of the Retinal microvascular nEtwork visualized by portable fuNDus camera (TREND) is a database comprising of 72 color digital retinal images collected from the students of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montenegro, in the period from February 18th to March 11th 2020. The database also includes binarized images of manually segmented microvascular networks associated with each raw image. The participant demographic characteristics, health status, and social habits information such as age, sex, body mass index, smoking history, alcohol use, as well as previous medical history was collected. As proof of the concept, a smaller set of 10 color digital fundus images from healthy older participants is also included. Comparison of the microvascular parameters of these two sets of images demonstrate that digital fundus images recorded with a hand-held portable camera are able to capture the changes in patterns of microvascular network associated with aging. The raw images from the TREND database provide a standard that defines normal retinal anatomy and microvascular network geometry in young healthy people in Montenegro as it is seen with the digital hand-held portable non-mydriatic MiiS HORUS Scope DEC 200.This knowledge could facilitate the application of this technology at the primary level of health care for large scale telematic screening for complications of chronic diseases, such as hypertensive and diabetic retinopathy. In addition, it could aid in the development of new methods for early detection of age-related changes in the retina, systemic chronic diseases, as well as eye-specific diseases. The associated manually segmented images of the microvascular networks provide the standard that can be used for development of automatic software for image quality assessment, segmentation of microvascular network, and for computer-aided detection of pathological changes in retina. The TREND database is freely available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4521043.

PERFORMANCES OF REGIONAL TOURISM IN THE AREA OF NORTHERN SLOVAKIA

Tourism is a dynamically developing segment, belonging to important components of the national and world economy. The Slovak Republic has a suitable starting potential for the development of tourism. The North of the Slovak Republic consists of two self-governing regions, acting as tourism regions, which are the subject of the study. Their offer in terms of tourism is diverse. At present, the development of the tourism phenomenon has been significantly slowed down by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study focuses on the Žilina self-governing region and the Presov self-governing region, which form a unified whole in the North of Slovakia. The aim of this paper is to use analytical methods to identify and describe the performance of tourism in selected regions that form the North of Slovakia. The analysis of tourism development in the Žilina self-governing region and the Presov self-governing region on the basis of selected statistical indicators, points to the development situation in the time horizon of 15 years. Despite the adjective most mountainous part of Slovakia, the results of the study confirm that these regions are attractive, and, in the past, they were experiencing an increase of visitors. This fact subsequently requires the expansion of services in tourism in the form of complex services and a higher degree of cooperation of entities in the region. © 2021, University of Montenegro. All rights reserved.

Significance of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases and their Threat to the Health of the Population

Damir Pelicic1,2*, Mitar Saveljic1,2 and Sonja Nejkov1 Author Affiliations 1Clinical Center of Montenegro, Montenegro 2University of Montenegro, Faculty of Medicine, Montenegro Received: March 14, 2021 | Published: March 29, 2021 Corresponding author: Damir Pelicic, Center for Science, Clinical Center of Montenegro, Montenegro; University of Montenegro, Faculty of Medicine, Montenegro DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2021.34.005612

Anthropometric Measurements of Athletes Performed by Teachers of the Faculty for Sport and Physical Education, University of Montenegro in 2017

The Center for Diagnostics in Sport, which is an integral part of the Faculty for Sport and Physical Education University of Montenegro, was established in 2017. It was accredited by the Ministry of Science and systematized by the University of Montenegro. The main function of the Center is to conduct research that will contribute to the improvement of scientific work in the field of sports sciences, as well as scientific branches and disciplines that are directly or indirectly related to sport and sports science. During the first year of its work, the Center justified its purpose and from May 20 to October 27 teachers of the Faculty for Sport and Physical Education, carried out 40 anthropometric measurements having tested individuals, clubs and national teams of different age groups from the country and abroad. In this paper, we classified the performed tests according to the countries where the athletes come from, as well as according to sports; separately for national teams, clubs and individuals. It was determined that the majority of the tested athletes were from Montenegro; even 22 national teams passed the tests. It was also determined from which sports there was the largest number of tested participants, as well as who the tested individuals were. Further research, which will include anthropometric measurements from 2018, can be based on this research. In addition, this research is significant because it gives an overview of all tests performed during the first year of work of the Center for Diagnostics in Sport.

Learning technical genres – a blended learning approach

Research studies dedicated to the application of blended learning in modern linguistics are on the rise. With the interdisciplinary nature of science and curricula, researchers are combining traditional methods with contemporary digital sources and text processing tools. Regardless of the many methods and approaches recommended, there is no set methodology widely proven to be successful, due to different student profiles, language competences and the learning environment. This paper presents the results of the blended learning approach taken at the University of Montenegro’s Faculty of Maritime Studies in Kotor. The traditional teaching approach has been combined with genre and discourse knowledge, with the support of digital and internet tools. The goal of the research is to demonstrate that students of the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course may benefit from genre- and linguistics-based knowledge applied in the technical and digital environment. Moreover, it is argued that a corpus- and genre-based approach to teaching professional genres provides an opportunity to enrich ESP classes. This approach has primarily proved to be beneficial in teaching technical and engineering genres. Language precision is the essence of effective language competence.

Vocabulary of L1 and L2 Graduation Theses Written by English Philology Students: Academic Writing of Montenegrin and US Students Compared

The paper explores the lexical profile of graduation theses written by the students at the University of Montenegro and compares it against that of BA theses authored by native speakers of American English. We study their lexical level (LFP method), lexical variation (sTTR method), and share of academic vocabulary according to the New Academic Word List (Browne, Culligan and Philliphs). We depart from the assumption that L2 academic writing is less complex vocabulary-wise and aim to determine how different it is and where the lexical differences may lie, so that pedagogical recommendations can be made. The results show that the Montenegrin theses are readable at 4,000 words, which means that B2 learners (according to CEFR) can read them at a reasonable level. In contrast, the theses written by native speakers can be read at 7,000 words, i.e. only by those commanding good C levels. As this is in line with our expectations, we conclude that the Montenegrin theses display a sufficient vocabulary size. Since the students still underuse academic vocabulary, we recommend that more emphasis should be placed on it in the course of their studies.

Attitudes of Academic Staff from Different Stages of Their Proficiency in Research and Teaching Activities in Sports Sciences: A Case Study of the University of Montenegro

Attitudes of Academic Staff from Different Stages of Their Proficiency in Research and Teaching Activities in Sports Sciences: A Case Study of the University of Montenegro

SYNTACTIC AND LEXICAL ASPECTS OF STUDENTS’ LEGAL TRANSLATIONS AT THE POSTGRADUATE LEVEL

Teaching translation of legal texts into English at the postgraduate level at the Faculty of Philology (formerly at the Institute of Foreign Languages), University of Montenegro, started in 2004. At this study programme, students face for the first time challenges of translating legal texts. Although they occasionally translate some legal texts at the undergraduate level, this is the first time that they study legal translation in a systematic way. This certainly produces some challenges, that may be mainly observed on two levels: (1) syntactic level, where some students produce English sentences that are literal translations of Montenegrin sentences; bearing in mind syntactic differences in the languages, this sometimes leads to a loss of meaning or distorted meaning in translations; and (2) lexical level, where there are differences in the English and Montenegrin legal systems, which certainly requires caution in translation; it is possible to identify some inconsistencies in using legal terminology because some Montenegrin concepts cannot be always simply transferred into English without looking more deeply into the legal systems. The paper discusses the notions of formal fidelity vs. fidelity to the “uniform intent” of the text (Šarčević, 1997) or what Hatim and Munday (2004) refer to as literal and free translation. These notions are crucial for my discussion of causes of errors in my students’ translations.

Recent developments in unsteady pipe flow experimentation at the University of Montenegro

This paper presents recent experimental results of pressure measurements during filling and emptying of a relatively small-scale pipeline at the University of Montenegro. Experimental setup for investigation of water hammer and its special effects (unsteady friction, cavitation, column separation, trapped air, fluid-structure interaction - FSI), and pipeline filling and emptying is installed at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. It consists of an upstream end high-pressurized tank, horizontal steel pipeline (total length: 55.37 m, inner diameter: 18 mm, pipe wall thickness: 2 mm), four valve units positioned along the pipeline including the end points, and a downstream end outflow tank. The setup was upgraded in 2018 with the installation of new piezoresistive pressure transducers and pipe displacement sensors as well as additional electro-pneumatically operated ball valve at the upstream end of the pipeline. The filling of an initially empty pipeline is performed by a sudden opening of the valve positioned at the high-pressurized tank filled with water. The pipeline emptying process is accomplished by high-pressurized air supplied from the air reservoir installed in the air supply line. The high-pressurized tank is closed, and the downstream end valve is opened. Experimental runs have been performed with different initial values of pressure in the upstream end high-pressurized tank (filling) and air supply line (emptying). Results of new pressure measurements are analyzed and commented, with a reference to the previous experiments presented at 6th IAHR WG Meeting in Ljubljana, 2015.