Residential renovation in Slovenia: comparison of survey and registry data

Data on residential renovations are crucial for assessing their energy efficiency and living conditions of residents. Based on the real estate register data in Slovenia, we have information about the year of construction of buildings, as well as the year of renovation of roofs, facades, windows, and installations. However, the data for the period after 2007, when the last real estate census was conducted, is incomplete. Moreover, official surveys also have very limited data on this topic. To get more detailed insights into the renovation procedures of Slovenian households, we conducted our own survey on a web panel, which provided insights into renovation characteristics not captured by existing data sources. This contribution compares survey data on renovations with registry data and attempts to evaluate the quality of survey data.The author acknowledge receiving funding from the Slovenian Research Agency for the project Using questionnaires to measure attitudes and behaviours of building users [Z5-1879] and from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology for the InnoRenew project [grant agreement #739574] under the H2020 Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation Horizon2020 Widespread-Teaming program

Legal and criminological aspects of human trafficking

Ne glede na to, da pomeni trgovina z ljudmi kršitev temeljnih človekovih pravic, ker postavlja žrtve v vlogo predmeta, še vedno obstaja v zelo velikem obsegu. Zato se mi zdi boj proti tej problematiki izjemno pomemben, saj nihče ne bi smel pristati v takem položaju, ne glede na okoliščine, v katerih živi. V magistrski nalogi predstavljam problematiko trgovine z ljudmi s pravnega ter kriminološkega vidika. Pravni vidik zajema predstavitev pomembnejše slovenske in mednarodne zakonodaje, ki ureja trgovino z ljudmi. V nacionalni zakonodaji so najpomembnejši akti Kazenski zakonik, Zakon o kazenskem postopku, Zakon o tujcih ter Zakon o zaščiti prič. Izmed mednarodnih dokumentov pa so najpomembnejši akti Palermski protokol, Evropska konvencija Sveta Evrope o boju proti trgovini z ljudmi, Okvirni sklep o boju proti trgovini z ljudmi 2002/629/PNZ, Direktiva 2011/36/EU ter Strategija za odpravo trgovine z ljudmi 2012-2016. Za celovito razumevanje problematike pa se zdi izjemno pomemben tudi kriminološki vidik. V tem delu naloge predstavljam dejavnike, ki pogojujejo trgovino z ljudmi, vrste trgovine z ljudmi, žrtve, trgovce, ureditev pomoči žrtvam, preiskovanje trgovine z ljudmi ter vrste preprečevanja. Poleg pravnega in kriminološkega vidika sem vključila tudi pogled zaposlenih v institucijah, ki se v ukvarjajo s preiskovanjem, pregonom in pomočjo žrtvam trgovine z ljudmi. V ta namen sem s predstavniki vseh treh institucij izvedla intervjuje, v katerih so razčlenili probleme, s katerimi se srečujejo pri svojem delu, in svoje videnje te problematike. Predstavili so mi tudi trenutno stanje trgovine z ljudmi v Sloveniji, izrazili zaskrbljenost glede prihodnosti ter poudarili potrebo po določenih spremembah v normativni ureditvi. Ureditev trgovine z ljudmi v Sloveniji je zadovoljiva, vendar bi določene spremembe bile zelo dobrodošle na vseh področjih (pregon, preiskovanje in pomoč žrtvam). V zaključnem delu sem predstavila probleme ter njihove morebitne rešitve, s katerimi bi boj proti trgovini z ljudmi lahko izboljšali.Human trafficking is a problem that is interesting because, regardless of whether it means a violation of fundamental human rights by placing a victim in a role of an object, it is still present in modern society at a very large scale. Therefore, I believe that fighting this issue is very important, because no one should have to find himself in such a situation, regardless of the circumstances in which they live. In my master thesis, I assess human trafficking issue form a legal point of view and from a criminological point of view. The legal aspect includes a presentation of the major Slovenian and international legislation, which refers to human trafficking. The most important Slovenian legislation includes the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Aliens Act and the Witness Protection Act. Among the international documents the most important are the Palermo Protocol, the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, the EU Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings 2002/629/JHA, Directive 2011/36/EU and the Strategy for the elimination of trafficking in 2012-2016. For a complete understanding of the issue it is necessary to understand the legal framework as well as the criminological perspective. The chapter aiming at this describes the factors of human trafficking, the types of human trafficking, victims, traders, arrangements for assistance to victims, investigation of human trafficking and the types of prevention. In addition to the legal and criminological aspects, I was also interested in the point of view of the institutions that are involved in the investigation, prosecution and assistance to victims of trafficking. Therefore, I conducted interviews with representatives of the three institutions in which we discussed the problems they encounter in their work and their vision of this problem. They also expanded on the current situation of human trafficking in Slovenia, expressed concern about the future, and stressed the need for certain normative changes. The regulation of trafficking in Slovenia is satisfactory, but certain changes would be most welcome in all areas (prosecution, investigation and assistance to victims). In conclusion, I elaborate on the problems and possible solutions to these problems, in order to optimize the fight against human trafficking

Webdatanet : Innovation and quality in web-based data collection

The article discusses the development of WEBDATANET established in 2011 which aims to create a multidisciplinary network of web-based data collection experts in Europe. Topics include the presence of 190 experts in 30 European countries and abroad, the establishment of web-based teaching and discussion platforms and working groups and task forces. Also discussed is the scope of the research carried by WEBDATANET. In light of the growing importance of web-based data in the social and behavioral sciences, WEBDATANET was established in 2011 as a COST Action (IS 1004) to create a multidisciplinary network of web-based data collection experts: (web) survey methodologists, psychologists, sociologists, linguists, economists, Internet scientists, media and public opinion researchers. The aim was to accumulate and synthesize knowledge regarding methodological issues of web-based data collection (surveys, experiments, tests, non-reactive data, and mobile Internet research), and foster its scientific usage in a broader community

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Metallic modified (bismuth, antimony, tin and combinations thereof) film carbon electrodes.

In this paper in situ bismuth, antimony, tin modified electrodes and combinations thereof are explored towards the model target analytes cadmium(II) and lead(II), chosen since they are the most widely studied, to explore the role of the underlying electrode substrate with respect to boron-doped diamond, glassy carbon, and screen-printed graphite electrodes. It is found that differing electrochemical responses are observed, dependent upon the underlying electrode substrate. The electrochemical response using the available range of metallic modifications is only ever observed when the underlying electrode substrate exhibits relatively slow electron transfer properties; in the case of fast electron transfer properties, no significant advantages are evident. Furthermore these bismuth modified systems which commonly employ a pH 4 acetate buffer, reported to ensure the bismuth(III) stability upon the electrode surface can create create a problem when sensing at low concentrations of heavy metals due to its high background current. It is demonstrated that a simple change of pH can allow the detection of the target analytes (cadmium(II) and lead(II)) at levels below that set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) using bare graphite screen-printed electrodes

Underrated Innovativeness of Micro-Enterprises Compared to Small to Medium Enterprises in the Slovenian Forest-Wood Sector

Although micro-enterprises represent most of the enterprises across different sectors, they are excluded from official statistics on innovation activities. What we know about micro-enterprises is based on smaller quantitative and qualitative studies that are country- and sector-specific. To understand the innovation activities of Slovenian enterprises in the forest-wood sector, we conducted our own quantitative study in 2019 based on the Eurostat’s Community Innovation Survey (CIS) questionnaire. Based on responses from 294 enterprises, we compare how micro-enterprises and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) differ in innovation strategies, product, and process innovations, co-operation with other organisations, innovation activities, and innovations with environmental benefits. The results indicate that, in some respects, enterprises with two to nine employees are at least as innovative as small to medium enterprises, or even more so. We argue that innovation surveys should lower the employee count threshold to attain better representative insight into the innovation landscape