A New Approach to Evaluation of University Teaching Considering Heterogeneity of Students’ Preferences

AbstractStudents’ evaluations of teaching are increasingly used by universities to evaluate teaching performance. However, these evaluations are controversial mainly due to fact that students value various aspects of excellent teaching differently. Therefore, in this paper we propose a new approach to student evaluation of university teaching based on data from conjoint analysis. Conjoint analysis is a multivariate technique used to analyze the structure of individuals’ preference. In particular, our approach accounts for different importance students attach to various aspects of teaching. Moreover, it accounts explicitly for heterogeneity arising from student preferences, and incorporates it to form comprehensive teaching evaluation score. We have conducted survey and confirmed applicability and efficiency of the proposed approach

The efficiency analysis in small wineries in the Republic of Serbia

This paper contains the attempt to evaluate the activity development efficiency of small wineries in the Republic of Serbia as insufficiently used development potential of one industry branch. Small wineries represent an activity which is currently being developed and it is expected that it will, as it is the case in developed countries, contribute to the total economic development and employment, development of brand as recognizable brand of wine from this region and start further recognizable development of this branch as family business in the country and abroad. The analysis was performed using the non-parametric linear programming model DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis). The aim of this paper is that, using the analysis of financial statements and the effectiveness of representative wineries belonging to the category of small enterprises, a rational strategic decision-making is provided.Publishe

Wandering spleen-a possible cause of adrenal ”mass“-case report

Wandering spleen is a very rare clinical condition character-ized by spleen absence in the normal anatomical location in the upper left quadrant of the abdomen and its presence at another location in the abdomen or pelvis. The ectopic spleen is extremely rare in children, where its increased mobility is the result of a congenital disturbance of the fixation for the anterior wall due to the absence or weakness of the supporting ligaments. Wandering spleen is usually asymptomatic, but its torsion is possible, as well as infarction or rupture which demand an urgent diagnosis and surgical treatment. The diagnosis of wandering spleen can easily be overlooked due to low incidence and insufficient clinical experience, which multiplies patient's risk from life-threatening conditions. We present a case of wandering spleen in an 11-year-old girl with acute abdominal pain, which after ultrasound examination raised suspicion on the right adrenal gland tumor. Additional diagnostics verified an ectopic spleen in the right adrenal box, after which the recommended preventive splenopexy was seriously considered. Due to the fixation of the vital spleen in the new position, but also the negative attitude of the parents towards the surgical intervention, clinical monitoring was selected, with exclusion of intense physical activity that carries the risk of traumatization of the spleen. As the girl has been in good health for over 3 years and without symptoms, we consider that the selection of conservative access although difficult, was correct. We hope that our experience in treating wandering spleen in girls will increase the number of valid facts about this rare condition

Trauma of the frontal region is influenced by the volume of frontal sinuses. A finite element study

Anatomy of frontal sinuses varies individually, from differences in volume and shape to a rare case when the sinuses are absent. However, there are scarce data related to influence of these variations on impact generated fracture pattern. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the influence of frontal sinus volume on the stress distribution and fracture pattern in the frontal region. The study included four representative Finite Element models of the skull. Reference model was built on the basis of computed tomography scans of a human head with normally developed frontal sinuses. By modifying the reference model, three additional models were generated: a model without sinuses, with hypoplasic, and with hyperplasic sinuses. A 7.7 kN force was applied perpendicularly to the forehead of each model, in order to simulate a frontal impact. The results demonstrated that the distribution of impact stress in frontal region depends on the frontal sinus volume. The anterior sinus wall showed the highest fragility in case with hyperplasic sinuses, whereas posterior wall/inner plate showed more fragility in cases with hypoplasic and undeveloped sinuses. Well-developed frontal sinuses might, through absorption of the impact energy by anterior wall, protect the posterior wall and intracranial contents.This work was supported in part by grants from the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development III45005, III41007, ON174028 and EU project FP7 ICT SIFEM 600933

A classifier driven approach to find biomarkers for affective disorders from transcription profiles in blood

Gene expression profiles in blood are increasingly being used to identify biomarkers for different affective disorders. We have selected a set of 29 genes to generate expression profiles for healthy control subjects as well as for patients diagnosed with acute post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Measurements were performed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Using the actual data in an anonym-ous form we constructed a series of artificial data sets with known gene expression profiles. These sets were used to test 14 classification algorithms and feature selection methods for their ability to identify the correct expression patterns. Application of the three most effective algorithms to the actual expression data showed that control subjects can be dis-tinguished from BPD patients based on differential expression levels of the gene transcripts Gi2, GR and MAPK14, targets that may have links to stress related diseases. Controls can also be distinguished from acute PTSD patients by differential expression levels of the transcripts for ERK2 and RGS2 that are known to be associated with mood disord-ers and social anxiety. We conclude that it is possible to identify informative transcription profiles in blood samples from individuals with affective disorders

Measuring the efficiency of banks: the bootstrapped I-distance GAR DEA approach

The efficiency of the banking sector, particularly in developing countries, has captivated the attention of various researchers. Contributing to this issue, we present the results of in-depth analysis of the efficiency of Serbian banks during the period 2005–2016. Unlike previous papers evaluating the efficiency of South-Eastern European banks, we emphasize the importance of applying weight restrictions in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The aim is to incorporate every aspect of a decision-making unit’s performance to avoid misevaluation of a bank’s efficiency. As a possible remedy to the issue, a bootstrapped I-distance is suggested as a statistically sound framework for determining weight bounds in the Global Assurance Region (GAR) DEA model. In terms of average efficiency, the banking sector of Serbia exhibits an improving trend over the period analyzed. The results show how banks can be evaluated when the impact of all the operating inputs and outputs are properly factored into the study

Malignant diseases in medicolegal practice

Introduction: In many cases of natural death (so-called obscure natural death), medicolegal assessment and elucidation are required. Although malignant tumors may be the cause of obscure natural death, their forensic significance has not been particularly studied in our population. Objective The objective of the study was to provide a general report on medicolegal importance of malignant diseases. Method Autopsy material of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Belgrade, from 1990 to 2000, was analyzed. The data were obtained from autopsy records, investigation reports, family members of the deceased and available medical documentation. Results The malignant tumor was the cause of death in 81 cases (0.69% out of a total of 11771 autopsies), in 52 males and 29 females, respectively. The incidence of malignant diseases increased with age. The most frequent cause of death was the lung cancer - diagnosed in 33 cases (40.7% out of 81), with somewhat higher percentage in females (41.4%) than in males (40.4%), but this difference was not statistically significant (χ2 =0.13; p>0.05). Other locations of malignancies were less frequently found: brain (7 cases), colon (6), stomach (5) and pancreas (4). In 67 cases, widespread tumor with metastases was identified as an immediate cause of death, in 8 cases there was a hemorrhage from eroded blood vessels, and in 6 cases peritonitis due to gastric or intestinal leakage into the abdominal cavity at the site of wall perforation. In 61.7% cases, fatal tumor was not diagnosed during the life, and was recorded more frequently in female group (75.9%) than in males (53.8%), but this difference was not statistically significant (χ2=2.71; p>0.05). In most cases of lung cancer (22 or 66.7% out of 33), which was predominant type in the analyzed sample, malignancy remained unrecognized during the life. Conclusion The most important medicolegal problems regarding fatal malignant diseases are associated with exclusion of violent death in cases that are characterized as obscure (suspicious) natural death, as well as assessment of possible legal responsibility of medical staff in cases in which malignant tumor has not been diagnosed during the life