Studenti kao lojalni korisnici informativnih mrežnih stranica: kako faktori upotrebljivosti, poznatosti, zadovoljstva i reputacije koreliraju s lojalnosti korisnika

In a time of increasing competition in online news, it is important for the publishers of news websites to retain loyal users. This paper contributes to the study of loyalty through an investigation of the factors that affect the loyalty of young users of news websites and motivate them to return there. The research sample in this study was made up of students (N=408) at universities in Slovakia who use news websites to search for information every day. Correlation and regression analyses have been used to test the hypotheses. The results of this research confirm that usability, familiarity, satisfaction and reputation have a direct and positive relationship to the users’ loyalty as reflected in daily use of a news website. The correlation shows that loyalty is associated particularly closely with reputation and satisfaction with a selected news website. Regression analysis shows that there are also other variables that affect users’ loyalty.Izdavačima informativnih mrežnih stranica važno je u vrijeme rastuće konkurencije u online vijestima zadržati lojalne korisnike. Ovaj rad doprinosi proučavanju lojalnosti istraživanjem faktora koji djeluju na lojalnost mladih korisnika informativnih mrežnih stranica i motiviraju ih na ponovno posjećivanje. Uzorak u ovom istraživanju čine studenti (N = 408) sa sveučilišta u Slovačkoj koji svaki dan koriste informativne mrežne stranice u potrazi za informacijama. Korelacijska i regresijska analiza korištene su za testiranje hipoteza. Rezultati istraživanja potvrđuju da su faktori upotrebljivosti, poznatosti, zadovoljstva i reputacije u izravnoj i pozitivnoj vezi s lojalnosti korisnika, što se odražava u svakodnevnom korištenju informativnih mrežnih stranica. Lojalnost je osobito blisko povezana s reputacijom i zadovoljstvom s odabranim informativnim mrežnim stranicama. Regresijska analiza također pokazuje da postoje i druge varijable koje djeluju na lojalnost korisnika

Local Elections as a Sphere for Forming Citizens’ Political Identity

The specifi city of local elections supports the idea that there is signifi cantly more chance of developing political identity at the local level. Given the social specifi city of local elections, we propose three hypotheses with the aim of ascertaining whether (i) the greater signifi cance of these elections, (ii) the specifi city of their political programmes and/or (iii) the proximity of voters to candidates lead to a stronger sense of individual political identity. These hypotheses are verifi ed from a comparative perspective by reference to local elections in Poland and Slovenia

Computational simulation of pass rolling

Táto diplomová práca sa zaoberá možnosťami výpočtového modelovania valcovania v kalibroch pomocou metódy konečných prvkov. Na začiatku je formulovaná motivácia pre písanie práce a problémová situácia, nasledovaná zostavením systému podstatných veličín. Ďaľšia kapitola popisuje rôzne spôsoby valcovania ako aj samotný valcovací proces. Dôraz je kladený na popis tradičného návrhu kalibrov. Nasledujúca kapitola sa zaoberá teóriou plasticity, plastickým chovaním materiálu a jeho modelovaním v konečnoprvkovom prostredí Abaqus, ktoré je použité vo výpočtovej časti práce. Predstavené sú viaceré modely plasticity, ako aj modely tvárneho porušovania, používané na posúdenie tvárniteľnosti či simuláciu šírenia tvárnej trhliny v materiáli. Práca pokračuje kapitolou zameranou na metódu konečných prvkov, najmä jej explicitný algoritmus, využívaný vo výpočtovej časti práce. Ďaľšia časť je venovaná popisu základných princípov fotoelasticimetrie, tradičnej experimentálnej metódy. Tieto kapitoly zahŕňajú aj popis konečnoprvkovej a experimentálnej fotoplastickej analýzy konkrétneho prípadu valcovania v kalibroch, riešené v predchádzajúcom článku. Použitý výpočtový model je základom nového konečnoprvkového modelu, ktorého tvorbe je predmetom nasledujúcej kapitoly. Naviac sú vytvorené aj dve varianty pôvodného, zjednodušeného výpočtového modelu. S použitím vytvorených výpočtových modelov sú vykonané štrukturálne analýzy a vyhodnotené viaceré výsledky, následne zhrnuté a porovnané s pôvodnými výpočtovými a experimentálnymi výsledkami. Rozbor porovnania výsledkov a zhodnotenie použiteľnosti a spoľahlivosti jednotlivých výpočtových modelov tvoria záver práce.This master's thesis reviews possibilities of finite element modelling of pass rolling. Motivation and problem formulation may be found at the beginning of the thesis, followed by definition of system of essential variables. Next chapter describes various methods of rolling as well as the rolling process itself. An emphasis is put mainly on pass roll design. The following part deals with material behavior and its modelling in finite element software Abaqus, which is used in the computational part of the thesis. Multiple models of plasticity are introduced here, as well as damage criteria, used to assess material formability or simulate propagation of ductile damage through the material. Next part is focused on finite element method, specifically its explicit algorithm, later employed in the computational part of the thesis. In the last theoretical chapter, basic principles of photoelasticimetry, a traditional experimental method, are described. These chapters also contain description of simplified finite element analysis and photoplastic experimental analysis of a specific pass rolling problem. Computational model used there served as a basis for the new finite element model, creation of which is the purpose of the following chapter. Two variants of the simplified, previously used computational model were recreated as well. Structural analyses were carried out using the three created models and various results were evaluated. Summary of obtained results and their comparison to original computational and experimental results follows. Discussion of the results and evaluation of usability and reliability of individual computational models form conclusion of the thesis.

Positive discrimination of the Roma minority

In its Constitutional Charter, Europe, as a multicultural society, advocates and guarantees the protection of minorities and emphasizes the establishment of the conditions for preserving cultural diversity. The protection of minorities is especially important, given the large number of different nationalities that have often not only settled within the boundaries of their motherlands but also coexist on common European territory. One of the most problematic concerns here is the displaced Roma community. The rights of the Roma minority are regulated by each individual country within its legislative borders but always in compliance with the related EU guidelines. The purpose of the article is to provide an in-depth evaluation of the current state of the Roma's participation at the local level in Europe, and specifically in Slovenia. The authors thereby seek to identify how the Roma question is being resolved, based on an empirical analysis of opinions of decision-makers at the local level

Integration of molecular characterization of microorganisms in a global antimicrobial resistance surveillance program

© 2001 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.The SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program has incorporated molecular strain typing and resistance genotyping as a means of providing additional information that may be useful for understanding pathogenic microorganisms worldwide. Resistance phenotypes of interest include multidrug-resistant pathogens, extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)–producing Enterobacteriaceae, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and fluoroquinolone-resistant (FQR) strains of gram-negative bacilli and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Clusters of 2 isolates within a given resistance profile that are linked temporally and by hospital location are flagged for DNA fingerprinting. Further characterization of organisms with respect to resistance genotype is accomplished with use of polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing. This process has been highly successful in identifying clonal spread within clusters of multiresistant pathogens. Between 50% and 90% of MRSA clusters identified by phenotypic screening contained evidence of clonal spread. Among the Enterobacteriaceae, ESBL-producing strains of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are the most common pathogens causing clusters of infection, and 50% of recognized clusters demonstrate clonal spread. Clusters of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter species, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia have been noted with clonal spread among patients with urinary tract, respiratory, and bloodstream infections. Characterization of mutations in the FQR-determining region of phenotypically susceptible isolates of E. coli and S. pneumoniae has identified first-stage mutants among as many as 40% of isolates. The ability to characterize organisms phenotypically and genotypically is extremely powerful and provides unique information that is important in a global antimicrobial surveillance program.M. A. Pfaller, J. Acar, R. N. Jones, J. Verhoef, J. Turnidge, and H. S. Sade

Influence of Role Models and Hospital Design on the Hand Hygiene of Health-Care Workers

We assessed the effect of medical staff role models and the number of health-care worker sinks on hand-hygiene compliance before and after construction of a new hospital designed for increased access to handwashing sinks. We observed health-care worker hand hygiene in four nursing units that provided similar patient care in both the old and new hospitals: medical and surgical intensive care, hematology/oncology, and solid organ transplant units. Of 721 hand-hygiene opportunities, 304 (42%) were observed in the old hospital and 417 (58%) in the new hospital. Hand-hygiene compliance was significantly better in the old hospital (161/304; 53%) compared to the new hospital (97/417; 23.3%) (p<0.001). Health-care workers in a room with a senior (e.g., higher ranking) medical staff person or peer who did not wash hands were significantly less likely to wash their own hands (odds ratio 0.2; confidence interval 0.1 to 0.5); p<0.001). Our results suggest that health-care worker hand-hygiene compliance is influenced significantly by the behavior of other health-care workers. An increased number of hand-washing sinks, as a sole measure, did not increase hand-hygiene compliance

Automated DNA Sequence-Based Early Warning System for the Detection of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Outbreaks

BACKGROUND: The detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) usually requires the implementation of often rigorous infection-control measures. Prompt identification of an MRSA epidemic is crucial for the control of an outbreak. In this study we evaluated various early warning algorithms for the detection of an MRSA cluster. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Between 1998 and 2003, 557 non-replicate MRSA strains were collected from staff and patients admitted to a German tertiary-care university hospital. The repeat region of the S. aureus protein A (spa) gene in each of these strains was sequenced. Using epidemiological and typing information for the period 1998–2002 as reference data, clusters in 2003 were determined by temporal-scan test statistics. Various early warning algorithms (frequency, clonal, and infection control professionals [ICP] alerts) were tested in a prospective analysis for the year 2003. In addition, a newly implemented automated clonal alert system of the Ridom StaphType software was evaluated. A total of 549 of 557 MRSA were typeable using spa sequencing. When analyzed using scan test statistics, 42 out of 175 MRSA in 2003 formed 13 significant clusters (p < 0.05). These clusters were used as the “gold standard” to evaluate the various algorithms. Clonal alerts (spa typing and epidemiological data) were 100% sensitive and 95.2% specific. Frequency (epidemiological data only) and ICP alerts were 100% and 62.1% sensitive and 47.2% and 97.3% specific, respectively. The difference in specificity between clonal and ICP alerts was not significant. Both methods exhibited a positive predictive value above 80%. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid MRSA outbreak detection, based on epidemiological and spa typing data, is a suitable alternative for classical approaches and can assist in the identification of potential sources of infection

Cost-Effectiveness of Preoperative Screening and Eradication of Staphylococcus aureus Carriage

BACKGROUND: Preoperative screening for nasal S. aureus carriage, followed by eradication treatment of identified carriers with nasal mupirocine ointment and chlorhexidine soap was highly effective in preventing deep-seated S. aureus infections. It is unknown how cost-effectiveness of this intervention is affected by suboptimal S. aureus screening. We determined cost-effectiveness of different preoperative S. aureus screening regimes. METHODS: We compared different screening scenarios (ranging from treating all patients without screening to treating only identified S. aureus carriers) to the base case scenario without any screening and treatment. Screening and treatment costs as well as costs and mortality due to deep-seated S. aureus infection were derived from hospital databases and prospectively collected data, respectively. RESULTS: As compared to the base case scenario, all scenarios are associated with improved health care outcomes at reduced costs. Treating all patients without screening is most cost-beneficial, saving €7339 per life year gained, as compared to €3330 when only identified carriers are treated. In sensitivity analysis, outcomes are susceptible to the sensitivity of the screening test and the efficacy of treatment. Reductions in these parameters would reduce the cost-effectiveness of scenarios in which treatment is based on screening. When only identified S. aureus carriers are treated costs of screening should be less than €6.23 to become the dominant strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative screening and eradication of S. aureus carriage to prevent deep-seated S. aureus infections saves both life years and medical costs at the same time, although treating all patients without screening is the dominant strategy, resulting in most health gains and largest savings