Effects of the environmental factors in call centre interiors: a case study

Environmental factors in workspaces affect employee productivity and satisfaction, particularly in call centres. One of the most challenging issues in contemporary offices is overcoming the problems of concentration on work, despite adverse effects such as insufficient lighting, inappropriate acoustics, or inadequate ventilation. The challenges increase in open-plan solutions. This paper presents a case study from Turkey that elaborates on strategies to improve environmental performance in call centres. It is inspired by a questionnaire conducted among employees of a call centre, identifying existing design lacks. Based on the results, acoustic quality calculations of the physical workspace follow, and initial computing outcomes reveal that the conditions do not meet the standards for call centres. The authors propose strategies to improve acoustic performance in the workspace and apply them to a virtual model. Results reveal that the proposed solutions allow for meeting the standards. Based on the findings, the authors suggest several other strategies for improving the physical environmental quality of the place, thus forming a guideline for the architectural design of call centres. The study derives information from a specific case and context to propose universally applicable solutions. It fills a gap in the literature as it exemplifies the characteristics of call centres in Turkey, which have not been studied before

Czynniki konkurencyjności w mikro i małych przedsiębiorstwach na przykładzie branży piekarniczo-cukierniczej

The paper presents the results of research conducted in 2015 in 56 micro and small enterprises operating in bakery and confectionary industry located in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. The aim of the investigation was to define factors of company’s competitiveness. The main internal determinants influencing competitiveness, among which the most important are high product quality, product price, product range or development financing possibilities, were presented. Service quality, relations with clients and company’s image were recognised as very important as well. The respondents also underlined the significance of modern technologies and innovation.W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań przeprowadzonych w 2015 r. w 56 mikro i małych przedsiębiorstwach sektora piekarniczo-cukierniczego, zlokalizowanych w województwie wielkopolskim. Celem badania było określenie czynników konkurencyjności firm. Omówiono główne determinanty wewnętrzne wpływające na konkurencyjność, wśród których najważniejsze to: wysoka jakość produktów, ich cena, szerokość oferty asortymentowej i możliwości finansowania rozwoju. Za bardzo ważne uznano również jakość obsługi i relacje z klientami oraz wizerunek firmy. Badani podkreślali także znaczenie nowoczesnych technologii produkcji i innowacyjność

Schlemm\u27s Canal: The Outflow “Vessel”

The aim of this chapter is to review the knowledge about the aqueous outflow through Schlemm\u27s canal. Morphology of this canal and aqueous humor pathways from the anterior chamber through the trabeculum into suprascleral and conjunctival veins via connector channels are described. Additionally, the role of Schlemm\u27s canal in the development of glaucoma and outflow resistance is discussed. Canalography as a more precise method of assessing the conventional drainage pathway and facilitating localization of an uncollapsed collector and aqueous veins is shown. Attention is also drawn to the relationship between aqueous and suprascleral veins and heartbeat

Non-penetrating phaco-deep sclerectomy with SkGel implantation — long-term observations

INTRODUCTION. The aim of this study is to present the efficacy and safety of non-penetrating phaco-deep sclerectomy (PDS) with implantation of an absorbable sodium hyaluronate implant (SkGel/Corneal). MATERIALS AND METHODS. In a prospective case series study 219 procedures were performed on 176 subjects receiving PDS with SkGel implantation. Indications were uncontrolled primary-open angle glaucoma (POAG) and operable cataract. Data collected included best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), and number of hypotensive medications. Follow-up examinations were performed one and seven days after procedure, then one, three, and six months after, and thereafter every six months. Complete and qualified success (without and with hypotensive medications) was assessed for IOP ≤ 18 mm Hg and IOP ≤ 12 mm Hg. RESULTS . The mean follow-up was 48.3 } 12.8 months. At 24 months, mean IOP decreased from 19.9 ± 5.0 mm Hg to 13.4 ± 3.1 mm Hg (P < 0.001) (31.8% reduction) and to 13.3 ± 2.7 mm Hg (P = 0.003) and after 60 months (33.2% reduction). At the 24-month follow-up, the average number of anti-glaucoma medications was reduced from 2.3 ± 0.8 to 0.62 ± 0.88 (p < 0.001). Complete and qualified success rates for IOP ≤ 18 mm Hg were 70.1% and 93.0%, respectively. Goniopuncture (23.8%), suturolysis (20.1%), and needling (18.3%) were performed. The most common complication was transient hypotony (36.07%). CONCLUSIONS. PDS with SkGel leads to an effective decrease in IOP over a long-term follow-up. The profile of the complications indicates that it is a safe procedure

Przez edukację artystyczną i środowiskową do zrównoważonego rozwoju

The paper is an attempt to define possibilities and limitations of fulfilling the assumptions of sustainable development on the level of formal edu-cation in the context of respecting culture and nature. The authors refer to two areas of education – artistic and environmental – which are connected by the relationships between biodiversity and cultural diversity. Common objectives of art and environmental education (sensitivity), common ways of educational methods (multisensory experience) and common contents (cultural education) are suggested by the authors to be factors favoring the fulfillment of the concept, while the structure and language of core curriculum is considered to be a poten-tial threat.Tekst stanowi próbę określenia możliwości i ograniczeń realizacji założeń zrównoważonego rozwoju na poziomie edukacji formalnej w kontekś cie poszanowania kultury i natury. Autorki odnoszą się do dwóch obszarów edu-kacji – artystycznej i środowiskowej – które łączy istnienie związków między bioróżnorodnością a różnorodnością kulturową. Wspólne cele tych edukacji (wrażliwość), wspólne sposoby oddziaływań wychowawczych (doświadczanie wielozmysłowe) i wspólny obszar treściowy (edukacja kulturowa) autorki wska-zują jako czynniki sprzyjające urzeczywistnianiu koncepcji, zaś strukturę i język programu nauczania jako potencjalne zagrożenie

The key factors affecting entrepreneurship: a comparative analysis

Svrha ovog rada je identificirati čimbenike koji određuju stopu rasta poduzetništva u odabranim regijama Poljske i Češke, dviju susjednih zemalja u period od 2007. do 2017.godine. To razdoblje uključuje vrijeme financijske i ekonomske krize, koja je u različitim omjerima mogla utjecati na odrednice poduzetništva u različitim regijama. Diferencijacija odabranih varijabli i njihovog utjecaja na stopu poduzetništva temelji se na mnogim elementima. Da bi se postigao postavljeni cilj, primjenjene su sljedeće istraživačke metode: prezentacija statističkih podataka, statistička i ekonometrijska metoda istraživanja – logaritamski panel model s vremenskom odgodom. U radu se također ističe važnost poduzetništva za gospodarski razvoj zemlje. S obzirom na visoki stupanj konkurentnosti na lokalnom i globalnom tržištu, poduzeća bi trebala posvetiti sve veću pozornost mikro-okruženju i nekim regionalnim uvjetima, jer poduzeće ovisi o tim uvjetima i može utjecati na mnoga od njih.Rezultati istraživanja, a time i doprinos i njihova dodana vrijednost, su sljedeći: porast lokalnog poduzetništva pozitivno se prenosi na rast međunarodnog poduzetništva, dok su ulaganja za istraživanje i razvoj i prosječne naknade u gospodarstvu ključni čimbenici koji utječu na razvoj poduzetništva.The purpose of the article is to identify the factors determining the rate of entrepreneurship in selected regions of Poland and the Czech Republic, two neighboring countries, within the period 2007 – 2017. This period includes the time of the financial and economic crisis, which could have influenced the entrepreneurship determinants in the regions under study in varying degrees. The differentiation of the impact of selected variables on the entrepreneurship rate had its basis in many elements. To achieve this objective, the following research methods were used: presentation of statistical data, statistical and econometric research methods – the logarithmic panel model with delays. The article also emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurship for the development of a country’s economy. Considering the high level of competitiveness in local and global markets, enterprises should pay increasing attention to micro-environment and some regional conditions, because an enterprise depends on these conditions and may influence many of them. The results of the research and thus the contribution and their added value are as follows: an increase in local entrepreneurship is positively transferred to the growth of international entrepreneurship, while R&D expenditure and average remuneration in the economy are the crucial factors influencing the development of entrepreneurship

The Oxidative Stress May be Induced by the Elevated Homocysteine in Schizophrenic Patients

The mechanisms of oxidative stress in schizophrenic patients are not fully understood. In the present study, we investigated the effect of elevated level of homocysteine (Hcys) on some parameters of oxidative stress, namely thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), an index of lipid peroxidation in plasma, the level of carbonyl groups in plasma proteins, as well as the amount of 3-nitrotyrosine in plasma proteins isolated from schizophrenic patients. Patients hospitalised in I and II Psychiatric Department of Medical University in Lodz, Poland were interviewed with special questionnaire (treatment, course of diseases, dyskinesis and other EPS). According to DSM-IV criteria all patients had diagnosis of paranoid type. They were treated with antipsychotic drugs (clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine). Mean time of schizophrenia duration was about 5 years. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to analyse the total level of homocysteine in plasma. Levels of carbonyl groups and 3-nitrotyrosine residues in plasma proteins were measured by ELISA and a competition ELISA, respectively. The lipid peroxidation in plasma was measured by the level of TBARS. Our results showed that in schizophrenic patients the amount of homocysteine in plasma was higher in comparison with the control group. We also observed a statistically increased level of biomarkers of oxidative/nitrative stress such as carbonyl groups or 3-nitrotyrosine in plasma proteins from schizophrenic patients. Moreover, our experiments indicate that the correlation between the increased amount of homocysteine and the oxidative stress exists. Considering the data presented in this study, we suggest that the elevated Hcys in schizophrenic patients may stimulate the oxidative stress

Cadmium(II) and calcium(II) complexes with N,O-bidentate ligands derived from pyrazinecarboxylic acid

The synthesis and characterization of cad- mium(II) and calcium(II) complexes with N , O -bidentate ligands derived from pyrazinecarboxylic acid (3-hydroxy- 2-quinoxalinecarboxylic acid HL 1 , pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid HL 2 ) are reported. Obtained compounds [Cd(L 1 ) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ](H 2 O) 2 ( 1 ), [Cd(L 2 ) 2 ] n ( 2 ) and [Ca(L 2 ) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ]( 3 ) were studied by elemental analyses, IR, Raman spectros- copy and thermogravimetric methods (TG, DTG, DSC). In addition, the molecular structure of complex 1 has been determined by X-ray single crystal diffraction. Thermal analysis reveals a decomposition process of 1 , 3 complexes in multiple stages. The data obtained from TG and DSC curves for 1 , 3 confirm not only the presence but also the nature of water (crystallization and coordination) and the stoichiometry of the studied metal complexes. The results of thermal studies are in good agreement with their crystal structures. Thermal behavior of complex 2 indicates a single complete decomposition process of the sample. In addition, complex 2 as a coordination polymer is the most stable all of them and the thermal stability of the obtained complexes can be ordered in the following sequence: 1 \ 3 2

Ocznopochodne bóle głowy

Schorzenia narządu wzroku mogą być przyczyną objawowego bólu głowy. Autorzy omówili najczęstsze postacie ocznopochodnych bólów głowy, z uwzględnieniem obrazu klinicznego, niezbędnych do dokonania rozpoznania badań diagnostycznych oraz zalecanego leczenia. Szczególną uwagę poświęcono charakterystycznym objawom, stwierdzanym w badaniach podmiotowym i przedmiotowym, które pozwalają na właściwe ukierunkowanie diagnostyki różnicowej