MONTESORI METODA – OSNOVA INTEGRISANOG UČENJA MATEMATIKE

This research offers a theoretical comparative analysis of the Montessori Method and integrative teaching. Current trends call for incorporation of an integrative approach into educational practice. From the constructivists’ cognitive perspective knowledge is constantly changing, and results from acting and thinking. Maria Montessori developed an approach which is intellectually challenging and motivating. It develops a creative, flexible, authentic and constructive personality. In this paper we focus on theoretical aspects of both Montessori Method and integrative approach and look for compatible elements. We pay special attention to effects of the Montessori Method on development of mathematical aspects of reasoning. Our argument is that preschool Montessori Method has the capacity to become the basis for an integrative school approach. This provides a smooth move from early childhood learning to school learning. We point to the similarity of learning goals. Also, we pay attention to features of productive environments created within these two Methods for mathematics learning. In the light of the analysis, we suggest common features of the Montessori Method and integrated curriculum approach which have positive effects on mathematics learning. Finally, we draw some educational and curricular research questions. Our argument is that the Montessori Method presents natural prerequisites for integrated learning. We conclude that together they fulfil the social need for functional knowledge and holistic approach to a child’s development.Rad nudi teorijsku komparativnu analizu Montesori metode i integrativne nastave. Savremene tendencije ukazuju na potrebu uključivanja integrativnog pristupa u obrazovnu praksu. Sa stanovišta konstruktivizma znanje se neprestano menja i rezultat je akcije i razmišljanja. Marija Montesori je razvila metod koji je intelektualno provokativan i motivišući. Njime se razvija kreativna, fleksibilna, autentična i konstruktivna ličnost. U ovom radu, mi smo se fokusirali na teorijske aspekte obe metode: Montesori metode i integrativne metode tražeći kompatibilne elemente. Posebnu pažnju posvetili smo efektima Montesori metode na razvoj matematičkog mišljenja. Mi pružamo argumentaciju u prilog teze da predškolski Montesori pristup ima kapacitet da bude osnova integrativnog učenja u školi. On predstavlja gladak prelazak sa ranog učenja na školsko učenje. Ukazujemo na sličnost ciljeva ucenja. Takodje, posebnu pažnju posvećujemo sredini kreiranoj u ova dva pristupa posebno pogodnoj za učenje matematike. U svetlu date analize, ukazujemo na zajedničke osobenosti Montesori metode i integrativne metode koji imaju pozitivan efekat na učenje. Konačno, mi ukazujemo na neka obrazovna i kurikularna istraživačka pitanja. Naš stav je da Montesori metoda predstavlja prirodnu osnovu za integrativo učenje. Zaključujemo da zajedno one mogu ispuniti potrebu društva za funkcionalnim znanjima i holističnim razvojem dece

Analysis of the Professional Aspects of Medical Drugs Industry in the Republic of Serbia in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic

The research subject of this paper is the analysis of the attitudes of employees in pharmaceutical companies towards the business aspects of the pharmaceutical industry during and after the end of the pandemic in the Republic of Serbia. The aim is to examine the differences in the attitudes of employees, as well as to determine which variables predict the situations of endangering the professional reputation of pharmaceutical companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was conducted by means of a survey during 2021 on a sample of 27 innovative and generic pharmaceutical companies. We used the SPSS program for descriptive statistics analysis, chi square test and binary logistic regression models. The findings show that there is a statistically significant difference in the expressed attitudes of employees in innovative and generic pharmaceutical companies in terms of coming to the office during the pandemic; the lack of medicines and medical devices used in the treatment of COVID-19 infections; the patient access to a chosen doctor; the expectations of the employees to continue working from home after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the binary regression models show the slowdown in the supply chain, the access to doctors and working from the home office have not been perceived as creating situations of endangering professional reputations, that is, they contribute to the sustainable economic success. On the other hand, the introduction of digital technologies decreases the occurrence of conditions in which their professional reputation has been threatened

The Instruments Used to Assess Health Literacy and Pharmacotherapy Literacy of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Patients: A Scoping Review

Background: Patients with chronic diseases, like diabetes need to continuously perform tasks associated with self-management especially with medications they use. It is shown that the patients with diabetes with limited HL and PTHL cannot read medication labels correctly, may misuse their medications, spend much more on therapy and generally have difficulties in understanding printed care instructions and perceiving health advice and warnings. There has been an increasing demand for valid and reliable instruments for HL and PTHL assessment in this population. This review aims to search and critically discuss instruments used to assess HL and PTHL in people with type 2 diabetes and propose their use in different settings. Methods: Authors conducted a comprehensive, electronic search of original studies using a structured approach of the Scopus and PubMed databases, during November and the first 2 weeks of December 2020 to find relevant papers. The review was conducted in accordance with the Cochrane guidelines and the reporting was based on the PRISMA-ScR. The comparison of instruments was made by utilizing a comparison model related to their structure, measurement scope, range, psychometric properties, validation, strengths, and limitations. Results: The final number of included studies was 24, extracting the following identified instruments: Korean Functional Test HL, NVS, FCCHL, HLS-EU-47, TOFLHA, S-TOFHLA, REALM-R, 3-brief SQ, REALM, HLQ and DNT-15. In all, FCCHL and 3-brief SQ are shown with the broadest measurement scopes. They are quick, easy, and inexpensive for administration. FCCHL can be considered the most useful and comprehensive instrument to screen for inadequate HL. The limitation is that the English version is not validated. Three-brief SQ has many advantages in comparison to other instruments, including that it is less likely to cause anxiety and shame. These instruments can be considered the best for measuring functional HL in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and other chronic diseases. PTHL instruments (REALM and DNT-15) did not find the best application in this population. Conclusions: The future research should be directed in validation of the FCCHL in English and establishing of the structural validity of this questionnaire. Developing a specific PTHL questionnaire for this population will be of great help in management of their disease

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU (SCHENGEN) ACQUES IN THE WESTERN BALKANS AND ABOLISHING THE BORDER CONTROLS BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

The European perspective of the Western Balkans, i.e. the joining of the countries of the region to the European Union, was promoted at the Summit of the European Council in Thessaloniki exactly 20 years ago. From then until today, the European perspective for this region is often emphasized by the EU institutions and the leaders of the member states of the Union, so that the end of the negotiations and the full membership in the EU actually seem more and more distant every day. Citizens of most countries from the Western Balkans perceive EU membership as a distant, uncertain future, which increasingly generates dissatisfaction, growth of Euroscepticism and doubts about the sincere intentions of all participants in the European integration processes. This slow, long frozen and often blocked accession process has been followed by various initiatives, by the EU and the countries of the Western Balkans as intermediate stages, until the Union implements its own reform and starts the enlargement process again in full capacity. The initiatives relate to improving economic cooperation, establishing a common market and achieving greater economic growth in the region, and as such the most prominent are the Berlin Process and the Open Balkans. One of the basic postulates embedded in the two initiatives, which are perceived as rivals, is the freedom of movement, that is, the enjoyment of the four basic freedoms on which the EU itself is built. The functioning of the EU single market required the abolition of all barriers and border controls themselves in support of the freedom of movement of goods, goods, capital and services which was supported by a special integration process known as Schengen integration. Freedom of movement is the focus of the authors of this paper, who through analysis and research of a part of the EU acquis will point out the possibility of its direct applicability as a basis for abolishing the internal borders of the Western Balkans, i.e. for a start between two countries Republic of North Macedonia and Republic of Serbia. These are countries in different stages of accession negotiations with the EU, but still with sufficiently harmonized national legislation with the Schengen acquis, without mutual disputes, with a relatively high degree of mutual trust that can quickly and efficiently significantly support the functioning of the common market by abolishing border controls so that later in the process all the countries of the Western Balkans are gradually included.   &nbsp

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Functional, Communicative and Critical Health Literacy Instrument (FCCHL-SR) for Diabetic Patients in Serbia

Thoroughly validated instruments can provide a more accurate and reliable picture of how the instrument works and of the level of health literacy in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The present work aimed at cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Functional, Communicative and Critical Health Literacy Instrument (FCCHL) in patients with T2DM in Serbia. After translation and back-translation, views from an expert group, one cognitive interview study (n = 10) and one survey study (n = 130) were conducted among samples of diabetic patients. Item analysis, internal consistency, content validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability testing were performed. When all 14 items were analyzed, loading factors were above 0.55, but without adequate model fit. After removing two items with the lowest loadings FHL1 and IHL2 the fit indexes indicated a reasonable normed χ2 (SB scaled χ2/df = 1.90). CFI was 0.916 with SRMR = 0.0676 and RMSEA = 0.0831. To determine internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.796 for the whole FCCHL-SR12. With only minor modifications compared to the English version, the 12-item FCCHL instrument is valid and reliable and can be used to measure health literacy among Serbian diabetic patients. However, future research on a larger population in Serbia is necessary for measuring the levels of HL and their relationship with other determinants in this country

The role of insulin-like growth factor in prediction and prevention of preterm delivery

Background/Aim. Prediction and prevention of preterm delivery remain great challenge. It is important to include in everyday medical practice determination of certain markers that could help identifying pregnant women with preterm delivery. Insulin like growth factor (IGF) is involved in the control mechanism of fetal and placental growth and development. The aim of this study was to examine the presence of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1) in cervicovaginal secretion of pregnant women with symptoms of preterm labor, but with apparently intact fetal membranes and to point out a possible application of the strip test for detection of phIGFBP-1 in diagnosis of preterm premature rupture of total membranes (PPROM) in everyday medical practice. Methods. The study was performed at the Department for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Center of Vojvodina between October 2008 and May 2009. The study included 54 pregnant women between 20-35 weeks of gestation (WG), divided into two groups: the study group (16 pregnant women with symptoms of preterm delivery that gave birth before 37 WG) and the control group (38 pregnant women with the normal course of pregnancy that gave birth on term). In cervicovaginal secretion of the examined pregnant women the level of IGFBP-1 was determined by the immunochromatographic assay with monoclonal antibodies 6303 as a detecting antibody (Actim PROM test, Medix Biochemica, Kauniainen, Finland). Results. Gestational age (GA) at delivery in the study group was 32.6 WG and in the control group it was 38.4 WG. Weight of newborns in the study group was 2,021 g and in the control group 3,430 g. IGFBP test was positive in 15 women (93.75%) of the study group, while in the control group it was positive only in 1 woman (2.63%). Conclusion. Test on phIGFBP-1 in cervicovaginal mucus was positive in 93.75% women with preterm delivery, suggesting that this test could be used in diagnosis of silent rupture of fetal membranes and in prediction of preterm delivery

Predictors of Inadequate Health Literacy among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Assessment with Different Self-Reported Instruments

INTRODUCTION: Obtaining, understanding, interpreting, and acting on health information enables people with diabetes to engage and make health decisions in various contexts. Hence, inadequate health literacy (HL) could pose a problem in making self-care decisions and in self-management for diabetes. By applying multidimensional instruments to assess HL, it is possible to differentiate domains of functional, communicative, and critical HL. OBJECTIVES: Primarily, this study aimed to measure the prevalence of inadequate HL among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and to analyze the predictors influencing health literacy levels. Secondly, we analyzed if different self-reported measures, unidimensional instruments (Brief Health Literacy instruments (BRIEF-4 and abbreviated version BRIEF-3), and multidimensional instruments (Functional, Communicative and Critical health literacy instrument (FCCHL)) have the same findings. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted within one primary care institution in Serbia between March and September 2021. Data were collected through Serbian versions of BRIEF-4, BRIEF-3, and FCCHL-SR12. A chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and simple logistic regression were used to measure the association between the associated factors and health literacy level. Multivariate analyses were performed with significant predictors from univariate analyses. RESULTS: Overall, 350 patients participated in the study. They were primarily males (55.4%) and had a mean age of 61.5 years (SD = 10.5), ranging from 31 to 82 years. The prevalence of inadequate HL was estimated to be 42.2% (FCCHL-SR12), 36.9% (BRIEF-3) and 33.8% (BRIEF-4). There are variations in the assessment of marginal and adequate HL by different instruments. The highest association was shown between BRIEF-3 and total FCCHL-SR12 score (0.204, p < 0.01). The total FCCHL-SR12 score correlates better with the abbreviated BRIEF instrument (BRIEF-3) than with BRIEF-4 (0.190, p < 0.01). All instruments indicated the highest levels for the communicative HL domain and the lowest for the functional HL domain with significant difference in functional HL between the functional HL of FCCHL-SR12 and both BRIEF-3 and BRIEF-4 (p = 0.006 and 0.008, respectively). Depending on applied instruments, we identified several variables (sociodemographic, access to health-related information, empowerment-related indicators, type of therapy, and frequency of drug administration) that could significantly predict inadequate HL. Probability of inadequate HL increased with older age, fewer children, lower education level, and higher consumption of alcohol. Only high education was associated with a lower probability of inadequate HL for all three instruments. CONCLUSIONS: The results we obtained indicate that patients in our study may have been more functionally illiterate, but differences between functional level could be observed if assessed by unidimensional and multidimensional instruments. The proportion of patients with inadequate HL is approximately similar as assessed by all three instruments. According to the association between HL and educational level in DMT2 patients we should investigate methods of further improvement

Farmakoekonomska evaluacija fakoemulzifikacije i ekstrakapsularne ekstrakcije u operaciji katarakte

Background/Aim. Cataract surgery is one of the most often performed surgical interventions. The predominant method in Western countries is phacoemulsification, while in developing countries, the extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) method remains popular. The aim of the study was to evaluate the cost- effectiveness of these two cataract surgery techniques from the provider’s perspective if operation complications were the out- come of the interest. Methods. The data were obtained from the Department of Ophthalmology of the General Hospital Kruševac during a one-year period. A total of 1,179 surgeries by five surgeons were performed. The cost-effectiveness was evaluated using the decision tree. All probabilities were calcu- lated based on the likelihood of the occurrence during the study period. Only direct costs were considered, and values were taken from the documentation at the hospital and the of- ficial price list of health services. One- and two-way sensitivity analyses were performed. Results. The total cost per patient in the phacoemulsification group was 71,008.70 Serbian dinars (RSD), while the total cost in the ECCE group was 74,340.36 RSD. At the same time, phacoemulsification shows higher ef- fectiveness than the ECCE method, with 87% and 57% of pa- tients without complications, respectively. With these results, phacoemulsification was the dominant strategy compared to ECCE. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the results are sen- sitive to the number of performed operations per year. Con- clusion. The phacoemulsification technique seems to be the preferred technique for cataract surgery. All the investment in phacoemulsification equipment and consumables is justified if the number of surgeries per year exceeds 350.Uvod/Cilj. Operacija katarakte predstavlja jednu od najčešće primenjivanih hirurških intervencija. U zapadnim zemljama, dominantna tehnika je fakoemulzifikacija, dok je u zemljama u razvoju najzastupljenija tehnika ekstrakapsularne ekstrakcije (ECCE). Cilj rada bio je da se proceni ekonomska isplativost te dve tehnike operacije katarakte iz perspektive pružaoca usluge, ukoliko se kao ishod posmatraju komplikacije. Metode. Podaci su dobijeni sa Očnog odeljenja Opšte bolnice Kruševac tokom jednogodišnjeg perioda. Ukupno je izvedeno 1 179 operacija od strane pet hirurga. Ekonomska isplativost je procenjena primenom „drveta odlučivanja“. Verovatnoće za događaje su izračunate na osnovu verovatnoće pojavljivanja tokom navedenog perioda. U analizi su razmatrani samo direktni troškovi, a vrednosti su preuzete iz prateće dokumentacije i zvaničnog cenovnika zdravstvenih usluga. Sprovedena je jednosmerna i dvosmerna analiza osetljivosti. Rezultati.Ukupni troškovi u grupi koja je bila podvrgnuta fakoemulzifikaciji iznosili su 71 008.70 srpskih dinara (RSD), dok su u ECC E grupi oni iznosili 74 340.36 RSD. Istovremeno, fakoemulzifikacija je pokazala višu efikasnost u odnosu na ECCE, 87% i 57% bolesnika bez komplikacija, redom. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata, fakoemulzifikacija je bila dominantna strategija u poređenju sa ECCE. Analiza osetljivosti pokazala je da su rezultati osetljivi na broj izvršenih intervencija na godišnjem nivou. Zaključak. Fakoemulzifikacija je ekonomski isplativija tehnika operacije katarakte u odnosu na ECCE. Sva ulaganje u opremu i potrošni materijal za fakoemulzifikaciju opravdani su ukoliko je broj izvedenih operacija na godišnjem nivou preko 350

Enterprise performance measurement systems

Performance measurement systems are an extremely important part of the control and management actions, because in this way a company can determine its business potential, its market power, potential and current level of business efficiency. The significance of measurement consists in influencing the relationship between the results of reproduction (total volume of production, value of production, total revenue and profit) and investments to achieve these results (factors of production spending and hiring capital) in order to achieve the highest possible quality of the economy. (The relationship between the results of reproduction and investment to achieve them quantitatively determines economic success as the quality of the economy.) Measuring performance allows the identification of the economic resources the company has, so looking at the key factors that affect its performance can help to determine the appropriate course of action

Searches for supersymmetric particles decaying to W and Higgs bosons in events with an isolated lepton with the ATLAS detector

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics is a theory that provides a description of all known elementary particles and their interactions except gravitational interactions. Nevertheless, there are a few open issues which cannot be explained by the SM. Supersymmetry (SUSY) is a well motivated extension of the SM which solves some of its shortcomings and predicts the existence of new particles. This thesis presents two searches for supersym- metric particles in proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. The first search considers a simplified SUSY model in which squarks and gluinos are pair-produced by the strong interactions in LHC collisions. In- spired by the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, this model includes Higgs bosons in the decay chain as well as W and Z bosons. The final state conside- red consists of one lepton (electron or muon), jets and missing transverse momentum. The analysis uses three signal regions which are designed to target the wide range of kinematics expected from squark or gluino decays. The obtained sensitivity has been compared with a reinterpretation of a pub- lished analysis which targets a slightly different supersymmetric model. The second search explores a simplified SUSY model of electroweak pair production of charginos (χ˜i±) and neutralinos (χ˜0j) in which the lightest chargi- no (χ˜1±) and next-to-lightest neutralino (χ˜02) decay to W and Higgs bosons, respectively. A final state with one lepton (electron or muon), two b-jets from the Higgs boson decay, and missing transverse momentum is explored us- ing three statistically orthogonal signal regions. The data are found to be compatible with the SM predictions in all signal regions