Changes in the Visegrad Group Economies in Light of the Misery Index

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0The economic performance of countries depends on the stages of the business cycle and changes due to various factors and influences. While the economic crisis of 2008 was triggered by financial factors, the crisis of 2020 was caused by factors of a non-economic nature – the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to assess changes in the performance and level of economic activity in the Visegrad Group economies in 2009, 2019 and 2020. This assessment is performed using GDP per capita, magic square and the misery index. In 2009, the best performing country was the Czech Republic and the worst was Hungary. In 2019 and 2020, Poland reached a performance level similar to the Czech Republic, and Slovakia performed the worst

Spolupráce měst a obcí v ČR, SR a napříč hranicemi

Cílem této souhrné analýzy v rámci řešení přeshraničního projektu bylo provést analýzu a zhodnocení aktuálního stavu spolupráce měst a obcí v ČR, SR, příhraničních oblastech, ale i napříč česko-slovenskou hranicí. Souhrnná publikace mapuje stav meziobecní spolupráce v obou zemích z hlediska legislativy, financí, forem a dalších relevantních aspektů. Obsahuje také plošné dotazníkové šetření realizované v ČR a SR s cílém identifikovat a popsat aktuální stav meziobecní spolupráce v obou zemích i napříč (přeshraniční spolupráce municipalit). Publikace také obsahuje závěry a doporučení pro decision-makery s ohledem na další rozvoj této specifické oblasti

Corrigendum: Quality of life and quality of education among physiotherapy students in Europe

Funding: The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) through the SingHealth PULSES II Centre Grant (CG21APR1013). The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication.Introduction: Physiotherapy education varies worldwide, with some countries offering on-the-job training while others have bachelor’s or master’s degree programs. There are also differences in postgraduate education across Europe (1). Teaching techniques to future physiotherapists also present challenges due to variations in learning styles and attitudes towards clinical-practical teaching. National universities and their faculties can differ in various ways, and health systems and policies impact rehabilitation and physiotherapy methods, too. There is a limited number of empirical studies comparing the experience of physiotherapy students at different institutions (2–4), highlighting the variations in physiotherapy education worldwide (5, 6). In this study, we focused on the comparison of bachelor’s degree programs in physiotherapy in Europe.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysis of Impact of Educational Attainment on Economic Performance in Visegrád Group Countries

The Visegrad Group countries are often cited as an example of a successful transition from a centrally planned economy to a market-based one. Education is crucial in enhancing the quality of human capital, which directly impacts a country's economy. The paper addresses the impact of educational attainment on the gross domestic product in the Visegrad Group countries. To assess the educational attainment of economically active per-sons, the Educational Attainment Index was calculated. The period analysed is the time from 2005 to 2020. Changes in the share of economically active persons with tertiary education were examined, with the best values achieved in Poland compared to other countries. Poland outperformed the remaining Visegrad Group countries in terms of the Educational Attainment Index, but Slovakia and the Czech Republic also managed to perform above the EU average. In terms of gross domestic product per capita, the Visegrad Group countries showed values below the EU average throughout the studied period. The analysis found that Poland had the highest Pearson correlation coefficient between the education index and gross domestic product per capita among the four countries and the EU average

Socio-demographic potential of human resources in the Visegrad regions

Human resources are the key factor in the development of countries and regions. They affect the prosperity and competitiveness of the countries and regions. The purpose of the study was to assess the human resource potential in the V4 countries and to identify the groups of regions that share similar socio-demographic characteristics. Changes in these characteristics were tracked in the years of 2000, 2008, 2016 at the NUTS II level. Hierarchical cluster analysis was utilised as the main research method in order to identify the groups of regions where measures need to be taken to maintain regional development. We found out that the best conditions for the potential of human resources are concentrated mainly in metropolitan areas. On the other hand, there are regions that do not make sufficient use of their potential in the area of human resources development, e.g. the region of Východné Slovensko. It is the region with future prospects of human resource potential In the future it is necessary to remove shortcomings and low human resources potential in lowperforming regions

The Relationship between Reactive Balance Control and Back and Hamstring Strength in Physiotherapists with Non-Specific Back Pain: Protocol for a Cross-Sectional Study

Back pain is one of the most costly disorders among the worldwide working population. Within that population, healthcare workers are at a high risk of back pain. Though they often demonstrate awkward postures and impaired balance in comparison with healthy workers, there is no clear relationship between compensatory postural responses to unpredictable stimuli and the strength of related muscle groups, in particular in individuals with mild to moderate back pain. This paper presents a study protocol that aims to evaluate the relationship between peak anterior to peak posterior displacements of the center of pressure (CoP) and corresponding time from peak anterior to peak posterior displacements of the CoP after sudden external perturbations and peak force during a maximum voluntary isometric contraction of the back and hamstring muscles in physiotherapists with non-specific back pain in its early stages. Participants will complete the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire. Those that rate their back pain on the 0–10 Low Back Pain Scale in the ranges 1–3 (mild pain) and 4–6 (moderate pain) will be considered. They will undergo a perturbation-based balance test and a test of the maximal isometric strength of back muscles and hip extensors. We assume that by adding tests of reactive balance and strength of related muscle groups in the functional testing of physiotherapists, we would be able to identify back problems earlier and more efficiently and therefore address them well before chronic back disorders occur

Data_Sheet_1_Quality of life and quality of education among physiotherapy students in Europe.docx

BackgroundThe study of physiotherapy is challenging and can affect the students’ well-being and quality of life. The aim of this study was to describe and compare factors that could affect well-being among students across Europe.MethodsIn this descriptive cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire survey, students of bachelor’s physiotherapy programs from 23 European faculties, from 8 countries, were interviewed on mental health and stress burden, sleep quality, dietary habits, and physical activity.ResultsAlthough 75% of students rated their quality of life positively and 47% were satisfied with their mental health, 65% showed higher levels of stress and 51% described impaired sleep quality. The minimum physical activity of 150 min weekly was described by 79% of students, within which 67% engaged in strengthening twice a week. Students with a higher stress load/worse psychological health also showed worse sleep quality and lower amount of physical activity, women were significantly worse off. In terms of physical activity and sleep quality, students from Finland and Kosovo achieved the best results, while students from Italy, Greece, and Portugal achieved the worst. Students from Italy indicated the greatest dissatisfaction with the organisation of the study system and communication with teachers, while in Kosovo students rated the communication and study organisation the highest. All students had a problem with adhering to nutritional habits. Students from Italy and Spain, with the lowest body mass indexes and weight averages, were closest to the nutrition recommendations.ConclusionWe demonstrated that physiotherapy students are burdened with stress, suffer from sleep disorders, and do not follow the recommendations regarding nutrition nor physical activity. There are significant differences between universities and countries in some aspects.</p