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The use of non-wood fibres for paper production could be one of the most environmentally friendly and economical alternatives. Reducing the consumption of wood pulp in paper and cardboard production by replacing wood pulp with alternative plant biomass could be a viable solution, as the amount of non-wood fibres in biomass is far from being exhausted. In this study, straw from the most commonly grown agricultural crops in Croatia was used as a source of non-wood fibres. Agricultural residues from wheat, barley and triticale were selected as a substitute for wood fibres for the production of laboratory papers with straw fibres. Under laboratory conditions, straw pulp was mixed with recycled wood pulp in a ratio of 30:70 to produce paper sheets that can be printed with different printing techniques. Regardless of the printing technique used, it is desirable that the prints contain a high-quality reproduction of the image and text on the surface of the paper and that the ink does not penetrate completely through the substrate. In this context, this study observed the use of laboratory-made papers with non-wood fibres as the printing substrate by analysing the maximum depth of ink penetration into the printing substrate obtained with two printing techniques - a modern one (digital UV inkjet) and a very high quality conventional one (gravure). It was found that the gravure printing favoured a greater penetration of the UV ink into the substrate with the addition of straw pulp compared to the digital printing technique. However, this is a consequence of the printing technique, as similar ink penetration was also observed on the laboratory substrate made only from recycled fibres. Compared to commercial papers, the ink penetration is slightly higher into the laboratory made printing substrates. It is interesting to note that the printing substrate with the addition of 30% triticale pulp has the lowest ink penetration, especially in multicolour prints produced with the digital UV inkjet printing technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific productivity makes for an important indicator to all scientific institutions and professionally recognized scientists. Scientific activity is of particular interest to Republic of Croatia, as it holds a special place in the international (and particularly European) scientific domain. Scientists are known for their reputation, i.e., their productivity is often recognized in magazines that publish their research papers. University North has recently established a special reward system for scientist, in order to ensure proper rewards for scientific accomplishments, i.e., for published research papers, citations of said papers, and an overall improved recognition of the institution that employs them. This system has certain rules and criteria for rewarding scientists. The rewards in and of themselves are contributing to popularization of science at the institution in question; furthermore, rewarding provides for a very good incentive for publishing many research papers with excellent indexing. Publishing research papers is also important to the institution the paper is referencing, as it adds to said institution’s visibility and recognition in the European and international domain of research and science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to present the development of the journal Kinesiology - International Journal of Fundamental and Applied Kinesiology over the five decades of its publication through the analysis of the articles using bibliometric indicators. The sample consisted of 1083 articles published over the period of 50 years, from the 1st volume in 1971 until the 52nd volume in 2020. The analysis of the articles revealed that the most common articles were original scientific papers, while the least represented articles were categorized as conference papers. From 1971 to 1996, most articles were written in the Croatian language. However, in the period 1996-1999, the journal was published both in Croatian and English and since 2000 onwards exclusively in English. The cited references in the last decade of the journal's publication were analysed in order to point out the patterns of scientific communication in kinesiology and to determine the recognizability of the published papers at the international level. Since 2006, greater visibility of Kinesiology - International Journal of Fundamental and Applied Kinesiology has been enabled by providing access to full texts of publications through the Portal of Scientific Journals of Croatia - Hrčak, whereas the articles published until the end of 2005 were retrogradely digitized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the revernacularization or reduction of the use-value of the standard Croatian language within the scientific and academic system. A bibliometric analysis of 1,152 academic papers was conducted on the sample of the selected Croatian journals in sociology and philology (Croatian studies). A longitudinal approach was used, analyzing all issues of the included journals in the periods 1996 to 1999, 2006 to 2009, and 2016 to 2019. Unlike in the 1990s, the selected journals were in later periods exposed to internationalization by being included in relevant international databases for scientific research. This article aims to investigate whether and how this process has affected the revernacularization of the Croatian language. The results show a similar absolute number of papers written in Croatian within the periods analyzed, and also a decrease in their relative number (share). In the period from 2016, a marked increase in the number of papers written in English was observed, as well as in the number of foreign authors. Such papers mostly do not address the topics of Croatian society. The results indicate an intensified internationalization of the analyzed journals, but not revernacularization. The mentioned trend can, nevertheless, lead to revernacularization with increasing international recognition of the journals, the continued promotion of publication in foreign languages, and a more rigorous policy of academic advancement in Croatia. In this sense, this study considers the need for preserving the standard Croatian language within the academic system, bringing both into a relationship with the widely promoted model of endogenous social development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Knjiznica is the property of Zveza bibliotekarskih drustev Slovenije (ZBDS) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Winter sports are sports considered as most attractive sports all around the world. Visiting mountains gives people feeling of: relaxation, pleasure and it influences on their health and cardio vascular and respirator system. This study included sample subjects of 6 magazines, which are available on the web pages. Magazines from the period of 2009-2019 are taken into consideration i.e. magazines in the last 10 years. METHODS: Method of analysis is used for data processing. That is procedure of scientific research by breakdown of complex terms and conclusions on the simplest parts and elements. All magazines are analyzed by years and each paper is analyzed, in detail. Analysis of 6 magazines from different cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo, Mostar, Travnik, Tuzla and Banja Luka) and one magazine from Croatia (Zagreb), showed that there is small number of papers on winter sports in sport scientific magazines. Most papers on winter sports, was founded in magazine Kinesiology Zagreb and magazine Sport Logia Banja Luka. CONCLUSION: Sport presents every aspect of entertainment, fun and play and physical exercise and through contest and competition asks for measurable effect of work i.e. sport result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study analyses data on papers of Croatian authors published in 2017 from four Web of Science Core Collection citation indexes (SCI‐EXP, SSCI, AHCI, and ESCI). The primary dataset (5,176 articles and reviews) was divided into two subsets, the open access (OA) subset (2,964 papers) and non‐OA subset (2,212 papers). We also used the primary dataset to create a subset of papers published in Croatian journals (1,588) as opposed to foreign ones. All were screened for full‐text OA status, journal JCR quartile ranking, journal dominant discipline, and language of publication. OA papers prevailed with 74.4%. Most were available at publisher websites. The percentage of OA papers in Croatian journals was 99.8%. The share of OA papers was the highest in the humanities and social sciences, which also saw the highest share of papers in the Croatian language. Key points: Three quarters of papers published by Croatian authors are available in open access (OA).Most papers are in English, even in Croatian journals; Croatian prevailed only in the humanities.Croatian journals are mostly non‐commercial, and many receive government subsidies, provided they are OA; they generally do not charge for article processing.The prevalence of OA over non‐OA papers is the highest in the humanities, followed by the social sciences.Open access publishing might increase international visibility of journals from periphery or semi‐periphery countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Polemos is the property of Croatian Sociological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent reforms in the Croatian national educational system due to the Republic of Croatia’s accession to the European Union have as one focus to raise the level of critical thinking required by students. An important component of national education is the high stakes matriculation or ‘matura’ examinations. A study was made of biology examinations in both the countries of Australia and the Republic of Croatia. The comparison aimed to determine the level of critical thinking demanded based on the questions in the examination. This analysis of examination questions relied on the presumption of consequential validity of high stakes examinations; matriculation papers, where, if demanded by the examination, students will adopt certain skills, in this case, critical thinking. A hierarchical critical thinking taxonomy was subsequently developed based on similar taxonomies in existing literature to research the questions in the matriculation examination papers of biology in Australia and the Republic of Croatia respectively. The examination questions were classified according to this taxonomy and the results are displayed according to the level of critical thinking demanded in these examination papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Vjesnik Bibliotekara Hrvatske is the property of Croatian Library Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Polemos is the property of Croatian Sociological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Polemos is the property of Croatian Sociological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Polemos is the property of Croatian Sociological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the development of the digital society, forensic analysis of signatures, in addition to the traditional analysis of signatures written with a writing medium on a common writing base, has also expanded to the analysis of signatures that are digitally scanned or digitally captured. Digitally scanned signatures represent some authentic signatures that have been scanned and implemented in the disputed document using computer technology and can in no way be considered authentic, especially if the scanning was performed by a person whose name is not signed in the disputed signature. Digitally captured signatures are gradually replacing the traditional way of signing, especially in banking transactions both within the Republic of Croatia and internationally. They become part of the modern forensic analysis of signatures and represent the authentic signatures of a person who made the writing with his own handwriting with a pen on the signature plate. The paper aims to present the latest trends in the development of technologies used for signing and also to present the latest trends in signature forgery. Additionally, in this paper, we present the possibilities of analysing such signatures in potential real situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fraud presents a serious problem and arising issue for all of society at national and global levels. According to global fraud research conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, it is estimated that the average company loses about 5% of its annual revenue due to different types of business fraud. Total estimated annual fraud losses according to global ACFE research reaches about 4.7 trillion dollars. Business frauds also present an important issue for the Croatian economy, business community and society as a whole. Thereby, considerable attention should be given to this issue with the aim of raising awareness throughout society on fraud and its negative and destructive impact on all of society. The main purpose of this paper is to examine differences in fraud characteristics between state-owned and private companies in the Republic of Croatia. Research was based on data on business frauds obtained by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Croatia which included 124 respondents. Data were related to frauds that occurred in Croatian companies in 2021 and 2020. In this paper we focused on fraud characteristics such as fraud loss, type of fraud, fraud duration and methods of fraud detection in order to determine whether fraud in privately owned companies differs significantly from fraud in state-owned companies. Research results revealed how differences in fraud characteristics among privately and state-owned companies exist. Based on a sample of Croatian companies that were victims of fraud, it is noted how fraud in state-owned companies lasts longer and creates greater loses in comparison to fraud in private owned companies. Moreover, data related to estimated fraud loss and fraud duration were statistically significant in terms of differentiating these two groups of companies. Based on data on discriminatory variables a logistic regression model correctly classified 78.46% of companies in the group of companies that are privately or state-owned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the topics discussed during the PSi conferences which was held in Zagreb, Croatia on June 24-28, 2009. Topics include misperformance issues in stage performances such as misfires, failure, mistakes, and misfires and the connectivity between performing studies and mathematics. Moreover, the conference was attended by Rivka Eisner and Lourdes Orozco.

Discusses challenges relating to property restitution in post-war Croatia. Legal problems that hindered ethnic Serbs from gaining access to their property; Factors that led to the slow pace of return of refugees; Alternative legal remedies to be taken to repossess property; Actions that might help legitimate property owners regain access to their property.

The main topic of this paper is the preservation of newspapers. Newspapers deteriorate rapidly, mainly because of the characteristics of the paper they are printed on. Approaches to newspaper preservation can be aimed to preserving just information or information carrier as well. The development of technology and the stronger influence of digitisation open new possibilities in newspapers preservation, primarily in the availability and use of information. The purpose of this paper is to present the existing approaches and methods in newspapers preservation, and to analyze the projects of newspapers preservation in the world. It will explore the organizational and practical aspects of the projects by showing examples of good practice in the field. Furthermore, the paper will analyze the preservation of the Croatian newspapers, giving an overview of the national and local/regional initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses three large, almost identical oval breverls from the eighteenth century burial contexts in present-day Republic of Croatia. Two of them were discovered during archaeological excavations in Žuberak and Prozorje, while the third one from Ližnjan had not been defined as breverl until now. Breverls are the rarest and most enigmatic devotional objects but the three analysed in this paper have a common link other than their appearance. They all contained religious medals from pilgrim sites and papers with the prayer against all evils and demonic attacks on one side and the blessings of saints, the prayer for the identification of those tortured by evil spirits, and the Prologue to John's Gospel on the other. This article compares the papers discovered in them, studies the motifs from the mentioned breverls and analyses other finds from them to provide answers to the questions of their place of production, the identity of the people who wore them and why. Tentative correlation of different bioarchaeological factors, such as age, sex, and health condition of the deceased can give us much information on who breverl bearers were. Apparently, they were the vulnerable members of society, such as pregnant women, people suffering from poor health, or, as prayers from the breverls suggest, individuals believed to be tortured by demons or evil spirits. Taking that into account, breverls were devotional objects believed to provide universal protection, a sort of medicine case for both physical and spiritual problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of stress in demonstrating adequate project leadership and ultimately achieving project success, while also respecting followers' expertise as the most important context factor. During 2021, the empirical research was conducted on 71 project managers in the Republic of Croatia. Results obtained via SPSS Statistics 23.0 and PROCESS macro v4.0 for SPSS indicate that demonstrated project leadership and followers' expertise positively affect the project's success. According to the results, stress, due to its inverted U-shaped nature of effect, does not affect project success, whereas it has a negative moderation effect on demonstrated project leadership by reducing its positive effects on project success. In addition to these results, this paper offers other interesting insights into the relationships between demonstrated project leadership, project manager's stress, and project success, further filling the identified gap in research. A relatively small sample of project managers and its cross-sectional nature stand out as the main limitations of the empirical research presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the rapid development of technology has increased the importance of the digital presence of service providers in wine tourism. The use of new digital technologies can help wine regions and service providers to improve the visitor experience and enhance the destination image. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of digital content marketing (DCM) in wine tourism and explore the importance of its dimensions on wine tourists' perceived image, satisfaction and behavioural intentions. The paper is based on desk and field research. An analysis of previous research was conducted and a survey was formed based on the previous research. The empirical study was conducted with a sample of 241 Croatian respondents, who have visited wine cellars and wine events in Istria in the last 5 years. Hypothesis testing was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The research results showed that usefulness, entertainment and quality of digital content had a statistically significant influence on perceived image, while entertainment and quality of digital content were significant predictors of overall satisfaction of wine tourists. Furthermore, a positive influence of perceived image and overall satisfaction with digital content on intention to continue using it was found. The study contributes to the understanding of wine tourists' behaviour in the digital environment and leads to implications that can be used for the development of digital marketing strategies to improve the wine tourism offer and to better respond to the contemporary demands of wine tourists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to János B. Szabó's latest suggestions, detailed in his two studies, the settlement named Földvár, thgought to have been in the center of the 1526 Battle of Mohács, might be found east of the Borza stream but south of the settlement of Sátorhely, in what is now Croatia. Our response examines the arguments that underpin this claim. The authors' conclusion is that the arguments in favour of the Croatian site cannot be supported by evidences, these statements are based on B. Szabó's misunderstanding. The present study confirms the arguments for the Földvár-Sátorhely continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As stated in the Venice Commission Report, the rule of law embraces several aspects, such as legality, legal certainty, prevention of abuse (misuse of powers), equality before the law and non-discrimination, and access to justice. Stability and consistency of law and legitimate expectations as a part of legal certainty are key factors in every democratic country. However, even for countries where democratic standards are highly developed, achievement of all aspects of the rule of law can be a challenge. Areas such as spatial planning and building are very dynamic in their core. However, this should not be an obstacle for stable and long-term regulation. Western democracies are characterized by the long-lasting acts and other regulation in building and spatial planning. Croatia, however, has constant changes in the basic regulation covering mentioned areas. For example, in issuing a building permit, the procedure can be so long lasting that all the relevant regulation may change in the meantime. This affects the investor, the owner of the property and possibly infringes their constitutional rights. Since the issuing of a building permit is in the area of administrative law, the aim of this paper is to analyse which constitutional rights may be affected during frequent changes of basic regulation. The other aim is to research and analyse whether national bodies and courts protect constitutional guarantees in administrative proceedings, and if not, what are the reasons for such practice. This paper is divided into five sections: background and regulatory framework, the rule of law in spatial planning and building, right to a fair trial, protection of property in administrative matters, and conclusion. Methodology used in this paper is normative, comparative, teleological and deductive. The research includes relevant regulation and available domestic and case law of the European Court on Human Rights. Paper is based on domestic and international documentation issued by relevant bodies, such as European Commission Reports, Venice Commission Report, etc. Teleological method is used for interpretation of the regulation and deductive method for the conclusion. Teleological method is used also for recommendations regarding a better application of the principle of the rule of law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criticism as a result of an evaluation process is a common topic of everyday communication within the working environment. The research starts from the assumption that criticism significantly affects the self-perception of employees and it evokes negative emotions that in the end influence job satisfaction and motivation to perform work tasks. The paper presents the frame of a new concept of impact that the criticism has on employee motivation and the first results of the study prove that concept in particular. The main aim was to define whether criticism expressed inappropriately evokes more negative emotions. Hypotheses that focus on its correlation with gender, age, level of education and work status are discussed in the continuation of the paper. The research was conducted on 520 participants in Croatia. The results show a significant impact of the quality of communication on the perception of criticism and its significance in correlation with gender, while hypotheses that correlated evoking negative emotions when expressing criticism within the working environment with age, level of education and work status were rejected. The hypothesis about the correlation between expressing criticism inappropriately and the occurrence of demotivation was rejected. Implications for Central European audience: The working environment is recently focusing on the digital transformation of all processes and so communication as well. By this transformation, people become alienated and lose basic communication skills. This paper brings together the presentation of long-established communication starting points and the most modern thinking and research on the impact of communication on the motivation, satisfaction and productivity of employees. Based on this, but also with the presented results of the conducted research, it proposes a new communication concept of communicating negative messages that are an integral part of everyday business communication in the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Napredak is the property of Croatian Pedagogical-Literary Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Today's children are growing up and spending most of their free time with media, especially social networks, on which various lifestyles are imposed every day, including ideals of beauty that are often based on physical appearance and far from authentic images of the observed object. In this paper, it is shown how the topic of beauty is presented throughout the history of art, with a special focus on the presentation of beauty in theology. Additionally, the paper investigates how much the topic of beauty is treated within the Croatian formal education system, with a particular emphasis on the representation of beauty and to what extent children are prepared to critically evaluate the representation of beauty in different types of media, but also to reflect on the potential impact of such content on themselves. Research has shown that most such content is present in the subjects of Visual Culture, Visual Arts, Croatian Language and Informatics. The paper also presents such contents in the Catholic religious education curricula. In addition to imposed media ideals of beauty affecting childrens' self-confidence, they are often the subject of peer violence, especially in the virtual world. Specifically, humiliation based on physical appearance is a common form of cyberbullying. To determine how physical appearance is used in such unacceptable behavior among children, all the posts that have arrived on UHO, the first online platform for the prevention of cyberbullying in Croatia, were analyzed. Research has shown that girls report such forms of abuse more often than boys, that cyberbullying based on appearance most often occurs inside closed groups or private messages rather than publicly on social networks, and that children rarely report to adults that they are the victims of such forms of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the short- and medium-term effects of high inflation on fiscal developments in Croatia. The main analytical novelty is to add inflation shocks to the fiscal reaction function, an approach that was not considered in macro-fiscal research during the long period of moderate inflation. Our results suggest that inflation has a favourable effect on the primary balance in the short term, which can be explained by the positive effect of inflation on nominal tax revenues and an initial lagged adjustment of public expenditure to inflation. In the medium term, however, inflation is likely to have a negative effect on the primary balance by raising government expenditure more than tax revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of the research is to analyse the possibilities of implementing music and music tourism in innovative tourism offers and promotions, based on the results and systematic analysis of existing literature with specific application in the repositioning of Croatian tourism. Research Design – The conceptual research provides a comprehensive insight into the way music is used in destination development. It focuses on various examples of the implementation of music tourism. Methodology – The research includes a bibliographic analysis using the Bibliometrix software package via the Scopus and WoS databases, which were selected to provide an overview of previous research on the concept of using music in destination development and to develop recommendations for implementation. Results – The results enable the identification of key determinants and concepts of musical offerings and promotions in Croatian tourism based on a systematic literature review and the specifics of Croatian tourism development at all levels. Research Originality – The application of music in tourism, music management in tourism – audio management, represents an under-researched area of scientific and professional research and concrete applications in global and Croatian tourism. The paper offers concrete proposals and research based on key research concepts. On an applied level, this requires a complete re-evaluation of how destination tourism incorporates musical offerings into its development system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate ideology is perceived as a set of fundamental beliefs held by company members about how the company and its members should behave in relation to one another and the outside world. In this paper, corporate ideology is treated as the basis for creating an organization's identity and as an extremely important factor in its success. The aim of this paper is to analyze the corporate ideologies of banks operating in the Republic of Croatia, to classify different ideologies, and finally, to determine what kind of identity the surveyed banks communicate through their corporate ideologies. A comparative and content analysis are applied as qualitative methods of research of an interpretative character. The corporate ideologies of two of the analyzed banks (ZABA and Erste) are described as social institutionalism, and PBZ's ideology is labeled as social corporatism. Detected corporate ideologies do not serve to build the authenticity of banks' identities. The main novelty of this research is in the methodology of reaching corporate ideologies. Unlike previous works on corporate ideology, in this paper public messages communicated in (digital) media were the main sources for the analysis of an organization's core values and ideologies resulting from it. Also, a simple framework for the possible classification of different corporate ideologies was provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Natura Croatica is the property of Natura Croatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Društvena Istraživanja is the property of Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Reveals that the electronic version of "Croatian Medical Journal" will already be available. Information on the digital archiving of the journal in PubMed Central, a free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature; Plans to develop a Web site of the journal; Decision to introduce electronic submission and peer review system.

European peace and security became under threat with the developments in the Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia (SFRY), particularly after 1991. The war in Slovenia and Croatia signalized that existence of the Federation it was no longer possible. European Community (EC) and its Member States strongly advocated for peaceful resolution of the conflict. On 19th July 1991, they reaffirmed readiness to be involved, in the role of third party, in restoration of the dialogue between the Republics and the Federation. Deterioration of the situation due to the declarations of independence made EC to come out with the proposal for the peace conference on Yugoslavia. Therefore, the Arbitration Commission issued several opinions related to the right of self-determination and whether the Republics that declared independence from the Federation fulfilled the necessary conditions of statehood. Considering that independence of the constituent republics symbolized the violent dissolution of SFRY, this paper aims to analyze the approach of EC and its Member States on the recognition of the independence of the Republics. In the academic literature, very few studies have focused on what made the EC and its Member States to come out with the proposal for the peace conference, concretely for an arbitration commission, and how the Republics that declared independence responded to the EC proposal for a common political agreement and arbitration commission? In this paper, will be analyzed the EC Statements on Yugoslavia, Statements of the SFRY Presidency, and the Opinions of the Badinter Commission for the period 1991-1992. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into regional airport system economics in Central Europe, with a particular focus on Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Hungary, and Croatia. This research aimed to identify key indicators that shape optimal business models for regional airport systems by analyzing data from 24 airports between 2016 and 2019. Through cluster analysis, airports were categorized based on performance metrics, economic indicators, and ownership structures. The findings reveal distinct groupings among regional airports and shed light on critical factors influencing their operational and financial dynamics. By offering insights into the relationships between airport system characteristics and business model effectiveness, this paper aimed to provide valuable guidance for stakeholders, policymakers, and airport management teams. It facilitates informed decision-making and strategic planning for sustainable aviation infrastructure development in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Aligning corporate communications through different information sources is a great challenge for marketers, especially those operating in the tourism sector, which has been harshly affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This paper provides a deep analysis of the implementation of seven basic principles of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) paradigm in a crisis situation. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth interviews with tourism and hospitality service providers were conducted in the fourth quarter of 2021 in Croatia, a destination that showed remarkable results in terms of the number of international tourist arrivals during the pandemic. Findings: Most firms successfully transitioned from tactical to strategic IMC implementation. Some problems were reported in the coordination of communication tools and channels. Whereas the use of digital technology was enhanced, database management did not receive sufficient attention. Message clarity represented the greatest challenge, while consumer-centric communication was the most neglected principle. Relationship building was pursued mainly through B2B rather than B2C communication, whereas brand equity development pursued through communication mix mostly focused on increases in awareness, perceived quality and attitudinal loyalty. Research limitations/implications: This research is qualitative in nature and provides opinions on IMC adoption from the managerial perspective only. Practical implications: This paper provides guidelines for the successful integration of marketing communications (marcom) in an extremely ambiguous and uncertain environment. Originality/value: The contribution of this work lies in the proposal of a new refined and expanded theoretical framework of IMC principles and numerous marcom strategies for operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus providing relevant implications for academia and industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, an important number of regional and global digital elevation models (DEMs) have been released publicly. As a consequence, researchers need to choose between several of these models to perform their studies and to use these DEMs as third-party data to compute derived products (e.g., for orthorectification). However, the comparison of DEMs is not trivial. For most quantitative comparisons, DEMs need to be expressed in the same coordinate reference system (CRS) and sampled over the same grid (i.e., be at the same ground sampling distance with the same pixel-is-area or pixel-is-point convention) with heights relative to the same vertical reference system (VRS). Thankfully, many open tools allow us to perform these transformations precisely and easily. Despite these rigorous transformations, local or global planimetric displacements may still be observed from one DEM to another. These displacements or disparities may lead to significant biases in comparisons of DEM elevations or derived products such as slope, aspect, or curvature. Therefore, before any comparison, the control of DEM planimetric accuracy is certainly a very important task to perform. This paper presents the disparity analysis method enhanced to achieve a sub-pixel accuracy by interpolating the linear regression coefficients computed within an exploration window. This new method is significantly faster than oversampling the input data because it uses the correlation coefficients that have already been computed in the disparity analysis. To demonstrate the robustness of this algorithm, artificial displacements have been introduced through bicubic interpolation in an 11 × 11 grid with a 0.1-pixel step in both directionsThis validation method has been applied in four approximately 10 km × 10 km DEMIX tiles showing different roughness (height distribution). Globally, this new sub-pixel accuracy method is robust. Artificial displacements have been retrieved with typical errors (eb) ranging from 12 to 20% of the pixel size (with the worst case in Croatia). These errors in displacement retrievals are not equally distributed in the 11 × 11 grid, and the overall error Eb depends on the roughness encountered in the different tiles. The second aim of this paper is to assess the impact of the bicubic parameter (slope of the weight function at a distance d = 1 of the interpolated point) on the accuracy of the displacement retrieval. By considering Eb as a quality indicator, tests have been performed in the four DEMIX tiles, making the bicubic parameter vary between −1.5 and 0.0 by a step of 0.1. For each DEMIX tile, the best bicubic (BBC) parameter b* is interpolated from the four Eb minimal values. This BBC parameter b* is low for flat areas (around −0.95) and higher in mountainous areas (around −0.75). The roughness indicator is the standard deviation of the slope norms computed from all the pixels of a tile. A logarithmic regression analysis performed between the roughness indicator and the BBC parameter b* computed in 67 DEMIX tiles shows a high correlation (r = 0.717). The logarithmic regression formula b ~ σ s l o p e estimating the BBC parameter from the roughness indicator is generic and may be applied to estimate the displacements between two different DEMs. This formula may also be used to set up a future Adaptative Best BiCubic (ABBC) that will estimate the local roughness in a sliding window to compute a local BBC b ~ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decade of research concentrating on the area of Eastern Slavonia revealed an abundance of large and complex Middle and Late Neolithic sites. It changed profoundly how we perceive Middle and Late Neolithic settlements, including space, size and organization. The vast majority of these sites were detected through aerial reconnaissance and satellite image analysis. The observation of the sites was followed by intensive field surveys, which confirmed their attribution to the Middle and Late Neolithic period by surface finds. On those confirmed sites in the vicinity of Đakovo, Croatia, a magnetic survey was conducted on five sites, and the results confirmed the presence of large-scale Middle and Late Neolithic settlements with complex spatial organization and enclosure(s). The most complex remains so far are the sites Gorjani, Kremenjača and Topole, which we present in this paper, where one or two settlements remain covering an area of 70 hectares which is currently in the process of formal protection as a cultural landscape by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia. The special focus of this paper is the application of remote sensing in the detection, archaeological confirmation and protection of the site of Gorjani Topole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic activities' efficiency represents the level of performance that uses the lowest quantity of inputs to achieve the highest possible amount of output. This paper presents the process of calculating the relative efficiency of separate non-financial activities in an economy using the DEA methodology. The purpose of this paper was to create the DEA model for monitoring the relative efficiency of individual non-financial activities of the economy. The purpose was achieved through the realization of two objectives. The first one included the determination of the relative efficiency of the above-mentioned activities in the period from 2002 to 2020 using the data from non-financial entities in the Republic of Croatia. The second objective consisted of ranking the economic activities according to their relative efficiency. An output variable that measures the efficiency was presented using the return on assets, while the total debt to EBITDA, EBITDA per employee, assets turnover and human capital efficiency were used as input variables. Research results indicate that the DEA methodology could be used as an economic activity's relative efficiency measurement tool, giving the possibility to rank it according to its relative efficiency using the accounting ratios. Research results show that service sectors' economic activities were the most efficient ones according to the lower assets engagement and the respective sources of financing that dominate. The highest average relative efficiency in 19 years was scored using wholesale, retail and repair activities as well as information, communication and education. The lowest average relative efficiency was achieved in construction, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities as well as accommodation and food service activities, which is the consequence of their low level of activity and profitability and high indebtedness in the analyzed period. The relative efficiency scores calculated using the DEA methodology could be used as a benchmark for companies on a micro level, while on the macro level decision-makers can obtain a deeper insight into the relative efficiency of the nonfinancial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dinara Mountain massif is recognized as an area of exceptional value, which led to its recent protection as a nature park, the second largest one in Croatia. The protected area includes the territory of two counties with four cities and nine municipalities, five of which are included with over 50% of the territory. The paper explains how landscape planning methods establish potential spatial conflicts and propose a compromise between landscape conservation and spatial development. The basic method was the identification and analysis of the landscape value models in 3 categories: natural, visual-experiential, and cultural-historical values. The creation of the models is preceded by a detailed analysis of all environmental components and the collection and creation of spatial data with the help of GIS tools. By overlapping the basic models, a cumulative model of the overall landscape values of the space is produced, which clearly shows which parts of the landscape have a higher value, regarding the protection requirements. The final value model is overlapped with the planned interventions and a clear overview of the vulnerability and possible conflict zones in the area is obtained. The paper describes the impact of individual interventions on the landscape qualities that need to be preserved and suggests guidelines for spatial plan corrections for the purpose of minimal impact on existing values, thus helping to prevent unwanted changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Central European Public Administration Review is the property of University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Public Administration and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

By applying institutional theory in retail and COVID-19 settings, this paper investigates the impact of legitimacy dimensions on customer loyalty, considering the moderating effect of the perceived COVID-19 threat. The data collected by a consumer survey in Japan and Croatia were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. The results from both samples reveal that moral and cognitive legitimacy are critical loyalty drivers. The perceived COVID-19 threat moderated the relationship between cognitive legitimacy and loyalty. The study also reveals some differences between the countries. The impact of pragmatic legitimacy is significant only in Croatia, while perceived threat negatively moderates the relationship between moral legitimacy and loyalty only in Japan. The study provides recommendations for managers on how to gain loyalty through actions supporting legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational commitment gets significant attention from both scientists and practitioners alike since the 1950s. This interest is evident in the literature in the area of management and organizational behaviour, in an impressive number of studies exploring the nature, antecedents, and outcomes of organizational commitment. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the clarification of the relationship between employees' demographic characteristics and their organizational commitment, since research studies imply mainly inconsistent results about this relationship. The empirical research was carried out in Croatia. The research sample includes 304 employees. A self-developed questionnaire was used for data collection, specifically about gender, age, tenure, education, and marital status. In order to assess organizational commitment, the Organizational Commitment Scale was applied. Research results showed no differences in organizational commitment regarding the employees' gender or marital status, while the differences in employees' organizational commitment exist regarding employees' age, tenure in organization and education. Dwelling into these differences, this paper demonstrates that the level of organizational commitment varies according to different subcategories of each demographic characteristic. In addition, this paper explains the origin and possible reasons of differences in organizational commitment regarding the different subcategories of each demographic characteristic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

− The European dimension in education was formed as a multilateral project of the Council of Europe and the European Union to improve European integration processes. − From the scholarly perspective, the development of the European dimension in education in Croatia is analysed from 1996 until 2020 − Political praxiology of education is introduced as a possible theoretical framework for future development. Purpose: This paper aims to present the twenty-five-year evolving pathway of the European dimension in education in Croatia. Furthermore, the paper critically problematises the lack of a theoretical framework that has marked this concept's research and partly contributed to its conceptual dispersion and scholarly ambiguity. Design: The paper design is based on chronological and content analysis of the European dimension in education development, primarily focusing on the Croatian context. The period analysed is from 1996, when the first paper on the European dimension in education in Croatia was published until 2020. Findings: The development frame of the European dimension in education is proposed, with an overview of appurtenant phases, followed by chronological and detailed elaborated thematic groups. As an answer to detected theoretical deficiencies, the political praxiology of education is introduced as a direction of its future theoretical development and a partly new shift in the conceptual definition of the European dimension in education is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Elementary Education / Revija za Elementarno Izobraževanje is the property of University of Maribor, Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study was undertaken in order to determine the quality of indoor pool waters in hotels along the Croatian coast. We wanted to assess the risks of exposure to microbial and chemical contaminants and find out if training pool operators to use a quality assurance system, that we developed, influenced hygienic conditions and water quality in swimming pools or not. The samples were analysed for free chlorine, pH and several microbiological indicators according to standard laboratory methodologies. Of 1,329 samples tested, 276 were found to be unacceptable either by chemical (148) or microbiological parameters (128). After training, the proportion of unacceptable samples dropped by 23.5%, mostly according to the free chlorine values. According to our results, most of the microbiologically unacceptable samples had chlorine levels within the recommended range but their pH values were too high. A free chlorine level below 0.2 mg/L was found in 106 (82.8%) microbiologically unacceptable samples suggesting the need for maintaining the lower limi at least above 0.2 mg/L in order to reduce microbial risks to a more acceptable level. This measure combined with training of pool operators might result in reduced health risks in pool waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Croatia, the social security system is based on generational solidarity, i.e. payment of contributions, which is known as pay as you go (PAYG), but the balance of its functioning is permanently and significantly disturbed by long-term unfavourable demographic processes. Projections show that the worrying demographic situation will deteriorate even further and that, with low birth and fertility rates and negative natural growth, negative net migration will contribute to further depopulation. In addition, contributions directly burden labour, i.e. they increase labour costs for employers and reduce their competitiveness in the marketplace, affecting economic growth. The paper reviews empirical research on the impact of different tax structures on economic growth, the sublimated conclusion of which is that direct taxes have a negative effect on growth, while indirect taxes are neutral. The Croatian tax system, with VAT as the main factor in the tax structure, is focused on taxing consumption, but is also characterized by a high level of levies. In this paper, the authors use the vector autoregression model to analyse the relationship between economic growth and the changed tax structure of the Republic of Croatia, in which the role of indirect taxes would be more emphasized. Data in model are consist of different types of taxes, GDPpc, population growth, gross fixed capital formation, unemployment rate and cover the time period from 2004 to 2019. The authors prove that the reduction of the tax burden through direct taxes has positive economic, demographic and fiscal effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]