Development of a Hybrid Agile Management Model in Local Self-Government Units

Local self-government units (LSGUs) often view project management as an accompanying activity not really giving it the appropriate level of importance. Challenges of traditional project management where the projects are segmented into discrete paths each dependent on the completion of the previous phase but without feedback or iteration can be overwhelming in a rigid governmental organizational structures. Such could be avoided by changing the way the projects are managed and/or changing the organizational structure. In both cases agile approach can be helpful. However, a priori implementation can cause more damage than good. It is the thinking behind the Agile principles that would adapt to the needs and particularities of the work environment it is implemented in, especially in light of the variety of activities of government bodies. The proposed model, Hybrid Agile Model, aims at defining a new, flexible, management structure for local self-government units, based on the development of human resources and constant change of culture, never neglecting the regular activities of such bodies, and all while making them more reliable and effective. The model has been described in detail along with the implementation process that has been tested on LSGU City of Poreč

AGILE ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL FOR MANAGING LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROJECTS

Local self-government units often consider project management as an accompanying activity and therefore do not accord it the appropriate level of importance. The term “agile” refers to a series of methods developed for more flexible project management. Thus, the background of an agile concept and its content are presented in this paper. Furthermore, the concept is compared with traditional project management methodologies. However, a priori implementation of agile-based model in an unrealistic solution can cause more damage than good. Hence, this paper proposes an agile-based matrix organizational model that adapts to the needs and particularities of the work environment in which it implemented, especially the various activities of government bodies. The model will define a new and flexible management structure for local self-government units based on the development of human resources, constant change of culture, and regular activities of government bodies, thereby improving their reliability and effectiveness

Prevalence and Risk Factors of the Rheumatoid Arthritis in Herzegovina Region in 2003–2005

In this study we evidenced prevalence of the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Herzegovina region of the Bosnia and Herzegovina and studied selected RA risk factors. Sample of subjects comprised RA diagnosed subjects which were compared to randomly selected controls. In diagnosing the RA we used criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis suggested by The American College of Rheumatology. Risk factors of RA included in this investigation were (1) educational status, (2) quality of nutrition, and (3) socioeconomic status. Average prevalence of the RA in our sample was 0.46/100, ranged from 0.36/100 to 0.64/100, which is comparable to other European samples. The RA occurrence is six times more often in females than in males. We have found indices that the Mediterranean diet has to be considered as protective factor against RA. Although RA occurrence is more frequent in the low socioeconomic samples of subjects, because of the methodological reasons we can not undoubtedly support the socioeconomic status as significant risk factor of the RA. Finally, it is interesting that we have found education level as risk factor significantly related to RA occurrence in our sample. All evidenced should be more precisely studied in some future study, while accurately controlling all relevant factors

LA INTERPRETACIÓN COMO HERRAMIENTA PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN DEL PATRIMONIO TURÍSTICO EN EL PARQUE XCARET, EN EL MUNICIPIO DE SOLIDARIDAD, ESTADO DE QUINTANA ROO

El patrimonio turístico está constituido por bienes tangibles e intangibles que tienen cierto significado social, cultural, de identidad e incluso económico para una localidad o sector de la sociedad. En ocasiones este patrimonio es utilizado para generar un desarrollo económico a partir de su adecuado aprovechamiento, sin embargo el deterioro de éste, es un problema latente cuando se ve relacionado con el turismo. La interpretación del patrimonio es una herramienta importante para la educación de los visitantes, con la cual se pueden compartir la importancia y el valor de los recursos Tilden (2006). Esta herramienta tiene por característica dar un seguimiento al cumplimiento de sus objetivos mediante la evaluación constante que permita conocer las posibles áreas de mejora. El caso de estudio abordado en esta investigación se desarrolló en el Parque Xcaret, municipio de Solidaridad en el Estado de Quintana Roo, y tuvo por objetivo principal analizar las bases teóricas de la interpretación del patrimonio turístico y los resultados de su aplicación en Xcaret; empleando un diseño metodológico con base en los elementos principales de la interpretación para investigar su efectividad como herramienta de conservación. El desarrollo de investigaciones sobre este tema permite resaltar su importancia al comprobar los beneficios de poner en práctica estas herramientas en el sector turístico. Como resultado de la investigación se postuló una propuesta de evaluación

Relation between Metopic Suture Persistence and Frontal Sinus Development

The frontal bone develops as two halves, which further unite in a single bone by the closure of the mid-sagittal metopic suture, typically by the end of the first postnatal year. The frontal sinus begins to expand into the orbital and vertical plates of the frontal bone postnatally and reaches the level of the nasion by the fourth year of age. At this time, the metopic suture is usually entirely closed. However, in the cases of failed closure of the metopic suture, its relationship to the frontal sinus development is still obscure. Here, we review the relevant literature and discuss the frontal bone development and maturation, from the viewpoint of the frontal sinus pneumatization in relation to the metopic craniosynostosis and failed closure of the metopic suture. The peculiar to the metopic skulls frontal bone configuration is rather an expression of the underlying neural mass demands than a consequence of the metopic suture persistence. Furthermore, the persistent metopic suture is frequently associated with a frontal sinus underdevelopment. It seems that the metopic suture does not inhibit the frontal sinus pneumatization itself, but rather both traits are an expression or an aftereffect of a certain condition during the early development

The Problem of Juvenile Pregnancy in Bulgaria in the Context of Obstetric Care

It is an alarming fact that in Bulgaria in recent years, in the context of declining birth rates, there has been an increase in pregnancies during adolescence. This article analyzes the state of the problem and discusses its social and medical aspect in the context of obstetric health care. Materials and Methods: Analyses of own research on this problem were used. Demographic and health parameters for the years 2010 - 2017 were analyzed. The results show that the total birth rate has decreased, reaching 9‰ in 2017, and every sixth child was born by a mother under the age of 20. The causes of juvenile (adolescent) pregnancy are multifactorial and constitute an important public health problem. Discussion: The overall birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased dramatically. Bulgaria ranks first in Europe by the share of births by mothers under the age of 20. Every sixth live-born child in our country belongs to this age group. Birth and teenage birth bring many risks, both in terms of course of the pregnancy and the life and health of the mother and fetus. Conclusion: Teenage pregnancy is an important public health problem. This requires integrated actions across sectors. It is essential that the midwife and the female counselor intervene in the prevention of early pregnancy and health care of the mother and the fetus

Isoperimetric Regions in Gauss Sectors

We consider the free boundary isoperimetric problem in sectors of the Gauss plane. The solution is not always a circular arc as in sectors of the Euclidean plane. We prove that the solution is sometimes a ray and we conjecture that the solution is sometimes a rounded n-gon which we discovered computationally using Mathematica

Control of drop shape transformations in cooled emulsions.

The general mechanisms of structure and form generation are the keys to understanding the fundamental processes of morphogenesis in living and non-living systems. In our recent study (Denkov et al., Nature 528 (2015) 392) we showed that micrometer sized n-alkane drops, dispersed in aqueous surfactant solutions, can break symmetry upon cooling and "self-shape" into a series of geometric shapes with complex internal structure. This phenomenon is important in two contexts, as it provides: (a) new, highly efficient bottom-up approach for producing particles with complex shapes, and (b) remarkably simple system, from the viewpoint of its chemical composition, which exhibits the basic processes of structure and shape transformations, reminiscent of morphogenesis events in living organisms. In the current study, we show for the first time that drops of other chemical substances, such as long-chain alcohols, triglycerides, alkyl cyclohexanes, and linear alkenes, can also evolve spontaneously into similar non-spherical shapes. We demonstrate that the main factors which control the drop "self-shaping", are the surfactant type and chain length, cooling rate, and initial drop size. The studied surfactants are classified into four distinct groups, with respect to their effect on the "self-shaping" phenomenon. Coherent explanations of the main experimental trends are proposed. The obtained results open new prospects for fundamental and applied research in several fields, as they demonstrate that: (1) very simple chemical systems may show complex structure and shape shifts, similar to those observed in living organisms; (2) the molecular self-assembly in frustrated confinement may result in complex events, governed by the laws of elasto-capillarity and tensegrity; (3) the surfactant type and cooling rate could be used to obtain micro-particles with desired shapes and aspect ratios; and (4) the systems studied serve as a powerful toolbox to investigate systematically these phenomena.This work was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) grant to Stoyan Smoukov, EMATTER (# 280078). The study falls under the umbrella of European networks COST MP 1106 and 1305.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2016.06.00