ICT Adoption Policy of Australian and Croatian SMEs

Many SMEs are currently adopting information and communication technology (ICT) and services based on it. However, there is little systematic research into how they are doing this and what are the organisational and environmental factors associated with this adoption. In this article, the authors build the model of ICT adoption in Australian and Croatian SMEs, founded on premises that SMEs are the main economic developing factor in all modern economies and that the adoption and the use of ICT represents the fundamental source of competitiveness and the basis for their survival on the world market. By applying Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Boolean algebra, the authors developed a model of necessary and sufficient factors for ICT adoption by SMEs in Australia and Croatia.SMEs, ICT, adoption models, case studies, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), Boolean algebra

The Gift Economy in Maternity and Childbirth in Italy

Donner la vie et la maintenir est l’activité humaine la plus productrice, mais dans notre société basée sur le travail rémunéré, ce n’est pas apprécié. Le don maternel est exclu des politiques et des discours officiels. Ce vide épistémique a des conséquences directes sur la société et plus encore directement sur les soins donnés en maternité

How Did You Do It? Shared Experiences of Birth Activism on the Issue of Obstetric Violence: Interview with Ibone Olza

Ibone Olza is a Spanish mother activist, psychiatrist, and author involved in childbirth advocacy and research at the national and international level. In the present interview, she talks about her experiences within Spanish mothers’ movement, specifically in relation to the phenomenon and the concept of “obstetric violence”—a form of gender-based violence exercised on women within maternity healthcare. The interviewer Elena Skoko is a fellow mother activist operating in Italy. The conversation herein represents a milestone for the Italian mothers’ movement because it has influenced the use of the term “obstetric violence” in Italy, which has resulted in the creation of a new public awareness and a new national movement of mothers

Environmental regulation of animal development

Iako su biolozi nekada smatrali da okoliš nema velik utjecaj na razvoj životinja, danas znamo da to nije tako. U ovom radu kroz kratki pregled prikazano je da okoliš ne igra samo sporednu ulogu u razvoju životinja, nego je često i jedna od ključnih uzroka normalnoga razvoja životinja. Okoliš utječe ne samo na pojedine vrste ili skupine već zahvaća cijelo životinjsko carstvo i to od same oplodnje i embriogeneze jedinke, pa kroz cijeli životni ciklus. Budući da se ovom pitanju daje sve više pažnje i da će novim tehnologijama biti lakše skupiti podatke, očekujem da će se u budućnosti otkriti još veća povezanost okoliša i životinja.Even though biologist thought that environment play small part in animal development, today we know the things are different. This work has shown, through short review, that environment is not only permissive, but often instructive and important part of normal development of animals. Environment is affecting more than just few species or groups, it is affecting whole animal kingdom. Because this matter is getting attention and because new technologies will make it easier to collect data I expect that in future there will be discoveries about even closer connection between environment and animals

ICT adoption model of chinese SMEs

Chinese SMEs have played an important role in stimulating economic growth, increasing employment, expanding exports and promoting science and technology innovations. In 2005 there were more than 10 million SMEs registered in the Industry and Commerce Department, accounting for 99 per cent of all registered corporations (UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific; China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, 2006). Further development of the Chinese as well as of all modern economies is dependent on the speed and effectiveness of the implementation of ICT based solutions in businesses. While large companies have been quick to adopt ICT solutions and technologies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have had more serious problems with the requirements and challenges of e-business. A number of ICT, e-commerce adoption methodologies have been suggested through literature most of this research, has however, focused on developed countries where the structure of the economy is common. There are only few studies that shed some light on prescribing strategies of ICT adoption for SMEs in developing countries, especially Chine. Furthermore, despite the enormous attention given to encourage SMEs to adopt ICT there has been little systematic research into the factors influencing, enabling and inhibiting the adoption of ICT within SMEs. In this article, author developed a model of ICT adoption of Chinese SMEs, founded on premises that the adoption and the use of ICT represent the fundamental source of competitiveness and the basis for firms’ survival in the world market. By applying the Qualitative-Comparative Analysis (QCA) method and Boolean algebra, author proposed a model of necessary and sufficient factors for ICT adoption by SMEs in Chine.Keywords: adoption models; Boolean Algebra; SMEs; case studies; ICT; qualitative comparative analysis (QCA)

Role of TV Debates in Presidential Campaigns: Croatia’s Case of 2005

The author looks into the role of TV debates in presidential campaigns, how the pioneering attempt at their production in Croatia in 2005 was received by Croatian voters and how these TV debates differed from the American model. Namely, a novelty in the Croatian 2005 presidential campaign were three TV debates between the leading contenders, Sjepan Mesić and Jadranka Kosor, who competed in the run-off ballot. The debates were organized by the three national TV networks (HRT, RTL and Nova TV) and the ratings were high

Pogled na komunikacijske strategije i pokušaje brendiranja u odabranim zemljama nastalima nakon raspada Jugoslavije

This article analyzes the attempts of four countries created upon the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia – Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia – to use communication as a tool for establishing themselves as distinct travel destinations and for creating attractive brands in the international political and economic markets. The paper focuses particularly on the analysis of the communication and promotion approaches, and concepts and strategies used by these countries in terms of the processes behind the aims outlined in the preceding sentence. The level of success of each country, as regards the subject matter of this article, is determined for the purpose of the analysis in question, by the best known brand perception surveys. The paper also analyzes the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the context of the newlycreated countries’ attempts to establish themselves internationally and compares their approaches to developing their brands and the models they are using for it. The countries in question are focused on tourism promotion. In these countries we see a tendency towards ignoring other aspects of branding. None of the analyzed countries have introduced the systematic management of their brands due to the fact that the process of brand development is obstructed by unresolved political issues or a failure of their politicians and ordinary citizens to understand the advantages of branding. Slovenia, according to the criteria used in this analysis, has adopted more efficient practices than the other three countries covered in this paper but it is important to stress that Croatia ranks first when it comes to tourism branding. The paper suggests that the importance of country branding has not yet been fully appreciated in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and that no integral branding concepts are being used, despite sporadic attempts undertaken by the mentioned countries.Članak analizira pokušaje četiriju država nastalih raspadom bivše Jugoslavije – Hrvatske, Slovenije, Bosne i Hercegovine te Srbije na području brendiranja, odnosno korištenja komunikacijskih alata u vlastitom pozicioniranju kao turističkih destinacija te atraktivnih brendova na međunarodnom političkom i gospodarskom tržištu. U fokusu su komunikacijske i promotivne strategije koje su pritom korištene. Uspjeh pojedine zemlje na tom području ocijenjen je prema rangu koji su tim zemljama dodijelili najpoznatiji međunarodni indeksi posvećeni snazi država brendova. Članak također analizira različite pristupe i modele koje su koristile novonastale države u međunarodnom pozicioniranju i razvoju svojih brendova. Istraživanje je pokazalo kako su sve analizirane države koncentrirane uglavnom na promociju turizma, dok su ostali aspekti brendiranja zanemareni. Nijedna od zemalja nema razvijenu cjelovitu strategiju brendiranja niti sustavno strateški upravlja vlastitim identitetom i imidžom. Sputavaju ih neriješeni politički prijepori ili nesposobnost političara i građana da shvate prednosti i važnost brendiranja zemlje. Prema kriterijima korištenima u analizi, Slovenija je provela najcjelovitiji pokušaj brendiranja, dok je Hrvatska ipak vodeća u turističkom brendiranju. Rezultat analize sugerira da važnost brendiranja zemlje u ovom dijelu Europe nije u potpunosti osviješten te da ne postoji cjelovit pristup konceptu brendiranja, već samo sporadični pokušaji u svim četirima analiziranim državama

Ovisnost mikrostrukture slitina Al-44 at% Zn i Al-48 at% Zn o temperaturi

The temperature dependence of microstructure of the title alloys was studied in situ by XRD. Each alloy had been subjected to two different thermal treatments: (i) rapid quenching from the solid-solution temperature, TSS, in water at room temperature (RT) and ageing at RT (samples WQ) and (ii) cooling slowly from TSS to RT and ageing at RT (samples SC). As the samples SC were closer to the equilibrium state than the samples WQ, the microstructure of the two sets of samples dependeded on temperature in a different way. The solid solution, αSS, was formed at about 720 K for the samples SC, and at about 880 K for the samples WQ. During the slow cooling to RT the samples SC and WQ behaved in a similar way. Instead of the phase transitions expected according to the phase diagram, the following sequence of transitions was observed for both alloys: α(M/β)+β(Zn) – α0 +β(Zn)+α(M/α0 ,β) – αSS. A similar thermal behaviour was also found for the Zn-rich alloys, Al-54 at% Zn and Al-62 at% Zn.Primjenom rentgenske difrakcije in situ istraživali smo temperaturnu ovisnost mikrostrukture navedenih slitina. Slitine su bile prethodno podvrgnute različitim termičkim obradama: (i) brzom kaljenju s temperature čvrste otopine, TSS, u vodi pri sobnoj temperaturi (uzorci WQ); (ii) sporom hlađenju od TSS do sobne temperature i starenju pri sobnoj temperaturi (uzorci SC). Budući da su nakon starenja uzorci SC bili bliži ravnotežnom stanju nego uzorci WQ, mikrostruktura dviju skupina uzoraka ovisila je o temperaturi na različit način. Uzorci SC bili su prevedeni u stanje čvrste otopine, αSS, na temperaturi oko 720 K, a uzorci WQ na oko 880 K. Umjesto faznih pretvorbi koje bi se očekivale prema faznom dijagramu, opazili smo ovaj niz pretvorbi za obje slitine: α(M/β)+β(Zn) – α0 +β(Zn)+α(M/α0 ,β) – αSS. Slično ponašanje nađeno je i za slitine bogatije cinkom, Al-54 at% Zn i Al-62 at% Zn

Ovisnost mikrostrukture slitina Al-44 at% Zn i Al-48 at% Zn o temperaturi

The temperature dependence of microstructure of the title alloys was studied in situ by XRD. Each alloy had been subjected to two different thermal treatments: (i) rapid quenching from the solid-solution temperature, TSS, in water at room temperature (RT) and ageing at RT (samples WQ) and (ii) cooling slowly from TSS to RT and ageing at RT (samples SC). As the samples SC were closer to the equilibrium state than the samples WQ, the microstructure of the two sets of samples dependeded on temperature in a different way. The solid solution, αSS, was formed at about 720 K for the samples SC, and at about 880 K for the samples WQ. During the slow cooling to RT the samples SC and WQ behaved in a similar way. Instead of the phase transitions expected according to the phase diagram, the following sequence of transitions was observed for both alloys: α(M/β)+β(Zn) – α0 +β(Zn)+α(M/α0 ,β) – αSS. A similar thermal behaviour was also found for the Zn-rich alloys, Al-54 at% Zn and Al-62 at% Zn.Primjenom rentgenske difrakcije in situ istraživali smo temperaturnu ovisnost mikrostrukture navedenih slitina. Slitine su bile prethodno podvrgnute različitim termičkim obradama: (i) brzom kaljenju s temperature čvrste otopine, TSS, u vodi pri sobnoj temperaturi (uzorci WQ); (ii) sporom hlađenju od TSS do sobne temperature i starenju pri sobnoj temperaturi (uzorci SC). Budući da su nakon starenja uzorci SC bili bliži ravnotežnom stanju nego uzorci WQ, mikrostruktura dviju skupina uzoraka ovisila je o temperaturi na različit način. Uzorci SC bili su prevedeni u stanje čvrste otopine, αSS, na temperaturi oko 720 K, a uzorci WQ na oko 880 K. Umjesto faznih pretvorbi koje bi se očekivale prema faznom dijagramu, opazili smo ovaj niz pretvorbi za obje slitine: α(M/β)+β(Zn) – α0 +β(Zn)+α(M/α0 ,β) – αSS. Slično ponašanje nađeno je i za slitine bogatije cinkom, Al-54 at% Zn i Al-62 at% Zn