STUDENT WELL-BEING: IDENTIFYING THE CONTRIBUTION OF OPTIMISM AND LOCUS OF CONTROL

Studies have shown that personality characteristics play a significant role in explaining the differences in well-being. To better understand this effect of personality traits, the study explored the role of locus of control and optimism for student college-related well-being. In a sample of 187 university students in Croatia, who responded to a set of personality questionnaires, it was found that both locus of control and optimism correlated with well-being. Moreover, results also revealed that optimism moderated the relationship between external locus of control and well-being. Our findings suggest that positive thinking may buffer the adverse effects of external locus of control on student well-being

Managing organizational knowledge while downsizing organizations

In this paper we investigate potential influence of organizational downsizing on organizational knowledge and learning. We discuss organizational downsizing in order to show that in large it is an issue of organizational design, and as such, managerial activity that must be coordinated with another - managing organizational knowledge. From this standpoint, we theorize that if these two managerial activities are not coordinated, organizational downsizing can lead to uncontrolled knowledge leakages, which can show to have unforeseen effects on organizational well-being in long term

Examining determinants of entrepreneurial intentions in Slovenia: applying the theory of planned behaviour and an innovative cognitive style

The aim of this paper is to present research on determinants of entrepreneurial intentions through the framework of the theory of planned behaviour and an individual innovative cognitive style. By employing the theory of planned behaviour, the authors evaluate how personal attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control can affect one’s intentions to become an entrepreneur. Additionally, the innovative cognitive style is tested as a potentially significant determinant of entrepreneurial intentions. A questionnaire survey was done using the sample of 330 bachelor and master students in economics and business from Slovenia. Research propositions were tested using linear hierarchical regression modelling. The results suggest that personal attitudes towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control are positively related to one’s entrepreneurial intentions. The innovative cognitive style has also been found to be significant in creating one’s intention to become an entrepreneur. The paper extends the current knowledge on entrepreneurial intentions by analysing the exclusive and mutual influence of different factors recognised by the theory of planned behaviour and the innovative cognitive style on entrepreneurial intentions, as well as providing useful insights into antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions in the Slovenian context

Human Resource Management in the Countries of the Former Yugoslavia

Human Resource Management (HR/HRM) is closely connected to the social and economic environment in which a given organization or company operates. On this basis it may be interesting for foreign potential investors to understand both the differences and similarities in the application of HRM methods in a group of countries which had lived for a long period of time in a federation which had finally disintegrated. Such investors usually come from different environments and backgrounds and have previous experience in the application of specific forms of HRM practice. In this paper the authors try to present the development and changes in the theories and practice of Human Resource Management in most of the countries established on the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.human resource management; economic environment; practices change; former Yugoslavia.

Risk factors for severe dental anxiety among medical students

Background/Aim. Severe dental anxiety (SDA) is the most severe form of dental anxiety, thus the aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with SDA in students of health-related disciplines. Methods. In this case-control study the cases were students with severe dental anxiety. The study was conducted at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Serbia. The participants were undergraduate students attending lectures during spring semester 2010/2011 (n = 1,812). A random sample of 800 students was assessed for the association between various risk factors and the severe dental anxiety. The main outcome measures were the data on demographics, dental anxiety, habits concerning oral hygiene, nutrition, general anxiety and (co)morbidity which were collected from the study participants by semi-structured question questionnaire. Results. Less frequent visits to the dentist (OR adjusted = 7.02 [2.65; 18.60]) and visiting the dentist only when there is a dental problem (OR adjusted = 8.08 [1.28; 50.93]) were associated with severe dental anxiety. The same was true for improper oral hygiene (OR adjusted = 4.25 [1.16; 15.60]). Factors as changing toothbrush more frequently (OR adjusted = 0.33 [0.14; 0.76]) and having chronic disease (OR adjusted = 0.01 [0.00; 0.09]) were inversely associated with severe dental anxiety. The level of education of students was not associated with severe dental anxiety. Conclusion. Inappropriate oral hygiene, less frequent changes of a toothbrush and less frequent visits to the dentist are important risk factors for severe dental anxiety

White Matter Deficits Assessed by Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Cognitive Dysfunction in Psychostimulant Users With Comorbid Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

Background Psychostimulant drug use is commonly associated with drug-related infection, including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Both psychostimulant use and HIV infection are known to damage brain white matter and impair cognition. To date, no study has examined white matter integrity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in chronic psychostimulant users with comorbid HIV infection, and determined the relationship of white matter integrity to cognitive function. Methods Twenty-one subjects (mean age 37.5 ± 9.0 years) with a history of heavy psychostimulant use and HIV infection (8.7 ± 4.3 years) and 22 matched controls were scanned on a 3T MRI. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values were calculated with DTI software. Four regions of interest were manually segmented, including the genu of the corpus callosum, left and right anterior limbs of the internal capsule, and the anterior commissure. Subjects also completed a neurocognitive battery and questionnaires about physical and mental health. Results The psychostimulant using, HIV positive group displayed decreased white matter integrity, with significantly lower FA values for all white matter tracts (p < 0.05). This group also exhibited decreased cognitive performance on tasks that assessed cognitive set-shifting, fine motor speed and verbal memory. FA values for the white matter tracts correlated with cognitive performance on many of the neurocognitive tests. Conclusions White matter integrity was thus impaired in subjects with psychostimulant use and comorbid HIV infection, which predicted worsened cognitive performance on a range of tests. Further study on this medical comorbidity is required

How the new EU Dual-Use Regulation could benefit third countries?

peer reviewedEuropean Union P2P Programme on Export Control of Dual-use Goods Export Control - Chaudfontaine Grou

The 2009 multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 421: Variability and correlation studies

Aims: We perform an extensive characterization of the broadband emission of Mrk 421, as well as its temporal evolution, during the non-flaring (low) state. The high brightness and nearby location (z = 0.031) of Mrk 421 make it an excellent laboratory to study blazar emission. The goal is to learn about the physical processes responsible for the typical emission of Mrk 421, which might also be extended to other blazars that are located farther away and hence are more difficult to study. Methods: We performed a 4.5-month multi-instrument campaign on Mrk 421 between January 2009 and June 2009, which included VLBA, F-GAMMA, GASP-WEBT, Swift, RXTE, Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, and Whipple, among other instruments and collaborations. This extensive radio to very-high-energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) γ-ray dataset provides excellent temporal and energy coverage, which allows detailed studies of the evolution of the broadband spectral energy distribution. Results: Mrk421 was found in its typical (non-flaring) activity state, with a VHE flux of about half that of the Crab Nebula, yet the light curves show significant variability at all wavelengths, the highest variability being in the X-rays. We determined the power spectral densities (PSD) at most wavelengths and found that all PSDs can be described by power-laws without a break, and with indices consistent with pink/red-noise behavior. We observed a harder-when-brighter behavior in the X-ray spectra and measured a positive correlation between VHE and X-ray fluxes with zero time lag. Such characteristics have been reported many times during flaring activity, but here they are reported for the first time in the non-flaring state. We also observed an overall anti-correlation between optical/UV and X-rays extending over the duration of the campaign. Conclusions: The harder-when-brighter behavior in the X-ray spectra and the measured positive X-ray/VHE correlation during the 2009 multi-wavelength campaign suggests that the physical processes dominating the emission during non-flaring states have similarities with those occurring during flaring activity. In particular, this observation supports leptonic scenarios as being responsible for the emission of Mrk 421 during non-flaring activity. Such a temporally extended X-ray/VHE correlation is not driven by any single flaring event, and hence is difficult to explain within the standard hadronic scenarios. The highest variability is observed in the X-ray band, which, within the one-zone synchrotron self-Compton scenario, indicates that the electron energy distribution is most variable at the highest energies.Fil: Aleksic, J.. IFAE; EspañaFil: Ansoldi, S.. Università di Udine; ItaliaFil: Antonelli, L. A.. INAF National Institute for Astrophysics; ItaliaFil: Antoranz, P.. Università di Siena; ItaliaFil: Babic, A.. University of Rijeka; CroaciaFil: Bangale, P.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Barres de Almeida, U.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Barrio, J. A.. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Becerra Gonzalez, J.. Inst. de Astrofísica de Canarias; EspañaFil: Bednarek, W.. University of Lodz; PoloniaFil: Berger, K.. Inst. de Astrofísica de Canarias; EspañaFil: Bernardini, E.. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY); AlemaniaFil: Bijand, A.. ETH Zurich; SuizaFil: Blanch, O.. IFAE; EspañaFil: Bock, R. K.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Bonnefoy, S.. Universidad Complutense; EspañaFil: Bonnoli, G.. INAF National Institute for Astrophysics; ItaliaFil: Borracci, F.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Bretz, T.. Universität Würzburg,; AlemaniaFil: Carmona, E.. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas; EspañaFil: Carosi, A.. INAF National Institute for Astrophysics; EspañaFil: Carreto Fidalgo, D.. Universität Würzburg; AlemaniaFil: Colin, P.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Colombo, E.. Inst. de Astrofísica de Canarias; EspañaFil: Contreras, J. L.. Universidad Complutense; EspañaFil: Cortina, J.. IFAE; EspañaFil: Covino, S.. INAF National Institute for Astrophysics; ItaliaFil: Pichel, Ana Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Rovero, Adrian Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: The Magic Collaboration.Fil: The Veritas Collaboration

Unprecedented study of the broadband emission of Mrk 421 during flaring activity in March 2010

Context. Because of its proximity, Mrk 421 is one of the best sources on which to study the nature of BL Lac objects. Its proximity allows us to characterize its broadband spectral energy distribution (SED). Aims. The goal is to better understand the mechanisms responsible for the broadband emission and the temporal evolution of Mrk 421. These mechanisms may also apply to more distant blazars that cannot be studied with the same level of detail. Methods. A flare occurring in March 2010 was observed for 13 consecutive days (from MJD 55 265 to MJD 55 277) with unprecedented wavelength coverage from radio to very high energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) γ-rays with MAGIC, VERITAS, Whipple, Fermi-LAT, MAXI, RXTE, Swift, GASP-WEBT, and several optical and radio telescopes. We modeled the day-scale SEDs with one-zone and two-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models, investigated the physical parameters, and evaluated whether the observed broadband SED variability can be associated with variations in the relativistic particle population. Results. The activity of Mrk 421 initially was high and then slowly decreased during the 13-day period. The flux variability was remarkable at the X-ray and VHE bands, but it was minor or not significant at the other bands. The variability in optical polarization was also minor. These observations revealed an almost linear correlation between the X-ray flux at the 2–10 keV band and the VHE γ-ray flux above 200 GeV, consistent with the γ-rays being produced by inverse-Compton scattering in the Klein-Nishina regime in the framework of SSC models. The one-zone SSC model can describe the SED of each day for the 13 consecutive days reasonably well, which once more shows the success of this standard theoretical scenario to describe the SEDs of VHE BL Lacs such as Mrk 421. This flaring activity is also very well described by a two-zone SSC model, where one zone is responsible for the quiescent emission, while the other smaller zone, which is spatially separated from the first, contributes to the daily variable emission occurring at X-rays and VHE γ-rays. The second blob is assumed to have a smaller volume and a narrow electron energy distribution with 3 × 104<γ< 6 × 105, where γ is the Lorentz factor of the electrons. Such a two-zone scenario would naturally lead to the correlated variability at the X-ray and VHE bands without variability at the optical/UV band, as well as to shorter timescales for the variability at the X-ray and VHE bands with respect to the variability at the other bands. Conclusions. Both the one-zone and the two-zone SSC models can describe the daily SEDs via the variation of only four or five model parameters, under the hypothesis that the variability is associated mostly with the underlying particle population. This shows that the particle acceleration and cooling mechanism that produces the radiating particles might be the main mechanism responsible for the broadband SED variations during the flaring episodes in blazars. The two-zone SSC model provides a better agreement with the observed SED at the narrow peaks of the low- and high-energy bumps during the highest activity, although the reported one-zone SSC model could be further improved by varying the parameters related to the emitting region itself (δ, B and R), in addition to the parameters related to the particle population.Fil: Aleksic, J.. IFAE; EspañaFil: Ansoldi, S.. Università di Udine; ItaliaFil: Antonelli, L. A.. INAF National Institute for Astrophysics; ItaliaFil: Antoranz, P.. Università di Siena; ItaliaFil: Babic, A.. University of Rijeka; CroaciaFil: Bangale, P.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Barres de Almeida, U.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Barrio, J. A.. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Becerra Gonzalez, J.. Inst. de Astrofísica de Canarias; EspañaFil: Bednarek, W.. University of Łódź,; PoloniaFil: Bernardini, E.. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY); AlemaniaFil: Biasuzzi, B.. Università di Udine; ItaliaFil: Biland, A.. ETH Zurich; SuizaFil: Blanch, O.. IFAE; EspañaFil: Boller, A.. ETH Zurich; SuizaFil: Bonnefoy, S.. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Bonnoli, G.. INAF National Institute for Astrophysics ; ItaliaFil: Borracci, F.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Bretz, T.. Universität Würzburg ; AlemaniaFil: Carmona, E.. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas ; EspañaFil: Carosi, A.. INAF National Institute for Astrophysics; ItaliaFil: Colin, P.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Colombo, E.. Inst. de Astrofísica de Canarias; EspañaFil: Contreras, J. L.. Universidad Complutense; EspañaFil: Cortina, J.. IFAE; EspañaFil: Covino, S.. INAF National Institute for Astrophysics; ItaliaFil: Da Vela, P.. Università di Siena; ItaliaFil: Dazzi, F.. Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; AlemaniaFil: Pichel, Ana Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Rovero, Adrian Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: The Veritas Collaboration.Fil: The MAGIC Collaboration