Determinants of Job Sastisfaction Among the Nurses of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo

The aim of this study was to assess the job satisfaction of the nurses working at the Pediatric Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (UCCK) based on the modified McCloskey/Mueller questionnaire. The study involved 50 nurses with different backgrounds. Intrinsic factors that dominated the survey were carrier opportunities, positive interpersonal relations, participation in decision making, perception of the work as important, and sense of personal achievement. Results have shown that the satisfaction was higher among the nurses aged older than 50, nurses with the secondary school education, nurses with more than 20 years of work experience, and nurses with less than 500 Euros monthly income in their families. At the overall job satisfaction of nurses, intrinsic factors have been shown more important than extrinsic ones

Teachers’ Perceptions of the Curricular Reform Implementation in Kosovo

The perceptions that teachers create about the curricular reform act as determinants of their journey towards the application of the reforms in practice. This research explores the perceptions that teachers have about the curricular reform and its implementation in Kosovo. The research took place in three cities of Kosovo: Prishtina, Istog and Klina, with 225 teachers, where 220 were respondents of the Questionnaire, and 5 were interviewed. The research highlights that the curricular reform is overwhelming for teachers and it is more oriented towards administrative issues. The curriculum is perceived as incomprehensible, challenging and not really easy to be applied. Besides, it did not change the teaching practices, and it did not enhance the students’ learning outcomes. Peer cooperation is perceived as one of the changes that the new curriculum has brought to life, and this is an important factor that facilitates the implementation of the curriculum. On the other hand, the lack of resources and the insufficient time available for teachers are seen to be the main obstacles in implementing the curriculum

The denationalization Policy of the International Community in Kosovo

This paper aims to argue that the international community, especially the UN and the EU, through their missions in Kosovo, have never supported resolving the Kosovo issue in the context of the Albanian issue in the Balkans. International mechanisms have been against the identification of Kosovo as an Albanian national issue, as they have imposed standards, criterias and policies that lead to the alienation of political identification of Kosovo with what is albanian. Through formulas and slogans on multiethnic society, the international community has made it impossible to build and identify Kosovo as an Albanian national state. By stopping Kosovo’s identification with the Albanian nation, making it impossible to unite with Albania by imposing exclusively non-Albanian state symbols, promoting the relativization of Serbia’s invasive past in Kosovo through the so-called history review process, the international community in Kosovo clearly has implemented denationalization policies that, as a last resort, after denationalization, would have the creation of the so-called new Kosovo national identity. Through qualitative methodological approaches, the paper will review, analyze

The Linguistic Dependence of an Independent Country

This paper presents an outline of the current state of Albanian language in Kosovo in view of the impact of other languages, English in particular. It attempts to understand the underlying causes for the intrusion of English from a diachronic socio- linguistic viewpoint, by looking at similar phenomena across the world and relevant research by linguistic scholars. The paper seeks answers to the following questions: What are the causes of English expansion in Kosovo, and how is it affecting the Albanian language? What determines the choice of language and the level of tolerance for borrowings? Furthermore, are there suggested approaches on how to treat this type of modern-day bilingualism? The scope of this paper is in keeping with current efforts to see language changes from a constructive angle, that of bilingualism and multilingualism as global phenomena. In so doing, it aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the need to view language as organic and inextricably connected to the evolving social and cognitive fabric of its users

Reorganization of the Ombudsman model in Kosovo

The advancement of the Ombudsman‘s work directly affects the strengthening of the rule of law. Every administration undergoing transition as is the case in Kosovo must increase its efficiency in meeting the rule of law standards. The edifice of mechanisms controlling the powers does not suffice if they are not attended by functional and efficient pratices, whichfrom time to time and when needed, are examined and analyzed, both in structure and in terms of the results they give. Therefore, this is the motivation and main purpose of the analysis at hand, which takes into consideration the normative content, comparing it with other countries in the region and beyond. The current model belongs to the ―emergency‖ phase before the era of independence when its role was left in the second plan, while it has much more importance in controlling the work of public administration bodies. In addition, the Ombudsman is still not sufficiently respected in public administration, and has a limited scope in society mainly due to lack of competence. From the examination it will appear that the role of the Ombudsman will increase by shifting from the current monocratic model to the collegial model in order to expand the scope of activity and increase

Quality of Physiotherapeutic Services in Kosovo: A Comparative Approach between Public and Private Sectors

This paper analyzes the quality of physiotherapeutic services in the public and private sectors in Kosovo, namely at the Rehabilitation Physical Medicine Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo and two private institutions in the capital, namely the physiotherapeutic clinics “Therapy” and “Physiomed”. The study is based on the standard questionnaire for measuring the quality and satisfaction of patients, as compiled by Monnin and Perneger, adapted to national circumstances. Access to the institution, administrative procedures, treatment facilities, equipment and staff professionalism are analyzed. The parameters mentioned were analyzed by gender, age and education level of the respondents. The survey was attended by 90 individuals, with 45 in each sector. Results have shown that patients’ satisfaction with facility access, parking space, equipment they possess as well as the comfort that the room provides has been greater in the private sector. There were no significant differences between the two sectors in the professionalism of the staff, the willingness to provide explanations and their politeness. The study has shown the need to invest in infrastructure and equipment as well as better management of waiting lists, to improve the quality of public sector services

Nicolaus Cusanus Unbound: An Investigation into Parallels between his Liberal Philosophy and Object-Oriented Ontology

This paper intends to reexamine the idiosyncratic thoughts of Nicholaus Cusanus (Nicholas of Cusa), a fifteenth-century German theologian-cum-philosopher who has generally been considered to be just a transitional figure to the succeeding, modern thinkers. The chief argument of this essay is that his conception of God as both immanent and transcendent has a number of interesting parallels with contemporary, de- anthropocentric philosophies, especially with Graham Harman‘s object-oriented ontology (OOO), and in fact can be regarded as a prescient harbinger to OOO in that Nicholas evidently urges one to assume a more liberal worldview while simultaneously equipping his own theory with a logic intelligible to others. In the closing section, the author of this paper poses a few proposals drawn from the investigation both to the discipline of philosophy and to the general public

In Order to be Great, One must be a Woman: Reading Sanjukta Dasgupta’s Dilemma: A Second Book of Poems

Poets play an important role in alighting the lamp of the human mind. The technique of writing poetry comes with ̳creation‘ which is the primacy of knowledge and Sanjukta Dasgupta‘s poetry is the source of light vindicating her formidable creativity and apt awareness as a ̳progressive [woman] writer‘ of Indian Writings in English. Women writers contribute towards the female literary tradition of ecriture féminine, strengthening the genre of gynocriticism. Elaine Showalter comments ̳women writers…found [themselves]…without a history, forced to rediscover the past anew, forging again…the consciousness of their sex‘ facilitating the patriarchal interrogation through women‘s writings, accelerating the birth of a woman authored literary canon. It has enabled them to break the silence towards an egalitarian world. This essay explores the ̳micropolitics‘ of an urban environment in Dasgupta‘s Dilemma: A Second Book of Poems, and critically reconnoiters her entelechy to observe life and interrogate the stereotypes society imposes upon women

The Impact of Professional Practice Standards in t he Professional Development and Performance Assessment of School Directors

Professional practice standards for school directors serve as a strategic tool to train and prepare school directors, and to improve the quality of education in institutions they lead. Over the last two decades, the education sector in Kosovo has been experiencing continuous changes so that a higher quality and genuine education of new generations is achieved, and having in mind that a school director is a key factor in coordinating the processes within school institutions, there are requirements for their professional development. To verify the usage and the impact of professional practice standards in professional development practice and performance assessment of school directors, a theoretical and empirical research has been carried out with primary and lower secondary school directors (N=26) and upper secondary school directors (N=11) in Prishtina and its suburb. From data analysis resulting from the quantitative approach (N = 37) it has been confirmed that, in Kosovo

The Tensions between Scientific Theories and Reality as a Knowledge Mechanism

In this paper the relation of scientific theories to reality, as a tension for achieving the knowledge of nature, will be elaborated. The focus is on physics, with emphasis on gravitation. Despite continuous successes, it is gravitation that leaves science ununified in explaining the macro- and microcosm. The paper will list the core efforts toward the unification. The main argument raised is about the assumption that perhaps the path being followed is not right. There is no linear direction in science, no predetermined way of development. It should be remembered that Albert Einstein, although not a member of the scientific community of physicists and who did a simple administrative job, was the one who rejected the famous Newtonian theory and caused a revolution in physics. Maybe some brilliant scientist is needed to get physics out of this state and unify it. This will bring about a new revolution in physics. As well in the knowing of reality