Anxiety and Defense Styles in Eating Disorders

This study investigates anxiety and defense styles in eating disorders. Seventy eating disorder (ED) patients and fifty-one female matched control subjects completed State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and 88-items Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ). ED patients were more anxious in actual situations and more anxiety prone in general. They relied on maladaptive action and Image distorting defense style. Bulimic anorexic (BAN) patients and bulimia nervosa (BN) patients differed in defense styles from restrictive anorexic (RAN) patients who displayed no significant difference in either state and trait anxiety or in defense styles when compared to healthy patients. Different levels of anxiety and ego defense maturity are present in ED patients. The almost normal ego functioning of RAN patients could be explained by pseudomaturity, tendency to control external and internal environment and the unconscious efforts to imitate normality to avoid conflicts

Dječji crtež kao komunikacijsko sredstvo djeteta i odrasloga

Može li dječji crtež biti komunikacijski posrednik između djeteta i odraslog? Nosi li on poruke koje će odraslima pomoći u podržavanju dječjeg razvoja? Mozaik spoznaja o djetetu odgajatelji, između ostalog, stvaraju i tumačenjem vrijednih poruka koje dijete crtežom šalje. Traganje za elementima kreativnosti u dječjim radovima omogućit će i odgajatelju i djetetu istinsko uživanje u procesu nastajanja, interakcijama i međusobnom upoznavanju

Feeding and Eating Disorders in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence

Poremećaji hranjenja i jedenja čest su medicinski i psihološki problem u adolescenciji, a mogu se javiti u dojenačkoj dobi i ranom djetinjstvu. Uzroci nastanka poremećaja su složeni i nisu potpuno istraženi. Liječenje bi trebalo biti multidimenzionalno, budući da psihofarmaci i psihoterapija primijenjeni zajedno nisu dovoljno učinkoviti, a u najvećem broju slučajeva u liječenje moraju biti uključene obitelji. Poremećaji svojom ozbiljnošću, trajanjem i teškoćama u liječenju te posljedicama za kvalitetu života i zdravlje djece i adolescenata zahtijevaju punu pažnju i ozbiljan pristup prevenciji.Feeding and eating disorders in infancy, childhood and adolescence are frequent medical and psychological problems. The causes of these disorders are complex and not fully explored. The treatment should be multidimensional because psychopharmacology and psychotherapy used together are not always sufficient, and in most cases families should be involved in treatment. Feeding and eating disorders are serious, long-lasting and difficult to cure. Their impact on the health and quality of life of children and adolescents requires full attention and a serious approach to prevention

Modeli učenja odraslih i profesionalni razvoj

U radu su detaljno prikazani neki modeli učenja odraslih relevantni za profesionalni razvoj. Raspravljene su razvojne perspektive u odrasloj dobi polazeći od teorije životnog raspona. U okviru tog pristupa smatra se da razvoj određen biološkim, psihološkim i sociokulturnim činiteljima u cjeloživotnoj perspektivi istodobno uključuje i rast i opadanje. Opisana su neka obilježja kognitivnog funkcioniranja u odrasloj dobi – intelektualno funkcioniranje, pod Catellovim modelom fluidne i kristalizirane inteligencije, kvalitativne razlike u kognitivnom funkcioniranju u formalnom i postformalnom razdoblju, promjene u ekspertnosti i mudrosti te promjene u pamćenju vezane uz odraslu dob. Promjene u kognitivnom funkcioniranju u zreloj dobi rezultat su kontinuiranog učenja. U nastavku rada opisani su kognitivistički modeli učenja odraslih: procesni model obrade informacija Atkinsona i Shiffrina (1986.), model dubine obrade informacija Craika i Lockharta (1972.) i model socijalnog učenja Alberta Bandure (1978.) te je raspravljena njihova primjena u poučavanju odraslih. Osim spomenutih modela, prikazani su i modeli iskustvenog učenja: Kolbov model iskustvenog učenja (1984.), model s dvostrukom petljom Schöna i Argyrisa (1996.) te model refleksivnog učenja s višestrukim petljama (Cowan, 1993.). Opisana je i primjena ovih modela u poučavanju odraslih. (IN ENGLISH: The paper presents in detail some models of the adult learning relevant for the professional development. It discusses developmental perspectives in the adult age starting from the theory of life span. Within that approach, it is considered that the development determined by biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors in the lifelong perspective includes both the increase and decrease. Some features of cognitive functioning in the adult age are described – intellectual functioning according to the Catell model of fluid and crystallised intelligence, and the qualitative differences in the cognitive functioning in the formal and post-formal period. It also describes the changes in the expertise and wisdom, as well as the changes in memory related to the adult age. The aforementioned features of the cognitive functioning are connected with the characteristics of the adult learning i.e. the changes in the cognitive functioning in the adult age are a result of continuous learning. In continuation, the cognitive models of the adult learning are described: the model of information processing by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1986), the depth of processing approach by Craik and Lockhart (1972) and the model of social learning by Albert Bandura (1978). Their application in the adult learning is discussed. Apart from the models mentioned above, the models of experiential learning are presented: the Kolb model of experiential learning (1984), the double-loop learning model by Schön and Argyris (1996), and the model of reflective learning with multiple loops (Cowan, 1993). The application of these models in the teaching of adults is described. The final part of the paper provides remarks on the adult learning through the process of supervision.

BUSINESS PROCESS CHANGE USING ARIS: THE CASE STUDY OF A CROATIAN INSURANCE COMPANY

Growth in Business Process Change (BPC) consulting services has led to a proliferation of business process modelling tools for conducting BPC projects. This paper explores the relationship between information technology and BPC and provides a summary of business process modelling tools features, placing them within an empirically derived framework. Furthermore, it examines the case study of a Croatian insurance company, analysing and discussing its practical experience in using the ARIS business process modelling tool

Family as a Factor in Cerebral Palsy Prevention

The aim of the study was to assess maternal perception of family impact on the course and outcome of rehabilitation in children with cerebral motor impairment. The study included 135 children with cerebral motor impairment. Their motor development was followed-up over a one-year period by use of structured interview with the children’s mothers after 12-month rehabilitation. The course of rehabilitation was assessed by the method of locomotor system functional evaluation. The improvement achieved in motor development was significantly better in the group of children whose mothers found their relationships with extended family excellent than in those whose mothers considered it good or poor. The study showed that mothers to children with cerebral motor impairment frequently feel the lack of extended family support, being it real or perceived as such by the mothers due to their emotional sensitivity, suggesting the need of additional studies of the reasons for this. These findings indicate that greater attention should be paid by health professionals to the psychological support offered to these mothers

LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF IQ STABILITY IN CHILDREN WITH CHILDHOOD AUTISM – LITERATURE SURVEY

Background: In this paper we present a survey of the literature dealing with IQ stability in children with childhood autism (CA) over the last ten years. Nowadays there is no clear evidence on this topic. Subjects and methods: We used the online “PubMed” database. By inputting the following key words: (autism and IQ and child) and (stability or outcome or follow-up) we obtained a total of 78 references. Out of those 78 references, some papers were left out in line with the exclusion criteria, so this survey includes 23 papers altogether. Results: The average initial IQ point is in the range from borderline intelligence to mild mental retardation. Out of a total of 23 studies, the majority, 19 of them, generally state that there are no changes in IQ, 8 studies mention increased IQ, while 3 studies demonstrate a decrease in IQ. Some studies register different results in the same study. At an individual level, single studies show a similar trend to the general results. Conclusion: The majority of studies state that the IQ points will remain the same. Today the generally accepted belief is that therapy should be started intensely and early. Some children with good progress may attend regular school

Menadžment poslovnih procesa i znanja u hrvatskim poduzećima

Contemporary companies function in constantly changing and highly turbulent business environment which is the cause of a constant need for change and learning at individual, group, organizational as well as interorganizational level (61). Organizational learning is considered to be one of the most promising concepts in modern managerial literature. According to de Geus ‘ability to learn faster than your competitors might be the only sustainable competitive advantage you have’ (11). Dimovski (12) provides an overview of previous research and identifies four perspectives on organizational learning. His model manages to merge informational, interpretational, strategic and behavioral approach to organizational learning and defines it as a process of information acquisition, information interpretation and resulting behavioral and cognitive changes, which should in turn have an impact on organizational performance. In recent research, another measurement variable for organizational learning emerged – Information quality (18). Another research topic introduced in this research was determination and evaluation of the business process orientation construct. Although definitions of the business process orientation vary, we adopt the McCormack’s and Johnson’s (2001) definition of process orientation: An organization that, in all its thinking, emphasizes process as opposed to hierarchies with a special emphasis on outcomes and customer satisfaction. McCormack and Johnson (2001) conducted an empirical study to explore the relationship between BPO and enhanced business performance. The research results showed that BPO is critical in reducing conflict and encouraging greater connectedness within an organization, while improving business performance. The more business process oriented an organization, the better it performs both from an overall perspective as well as from the perspective of the employees. The BPO construct describes a four-step pathway for systematically advancing business processes along the maturity continuum (Ad Hoc, Defined, Linked, and Integrated level). Each step builds on the work of the previous steps to apply improvement strategies that are appropriate to the current maturity level. It is important to note that trying to skip maturity levels is counter-productive, since each level builds a foundation from which to achieve the subsequent level. An organization must evolve through these levels to establish a culture of process excellence. The goal of our contribution was to test differences in the way companies learn and perceive their business process orientation in Slovenia and Croatia. During September and October 2005 questionnaires were distributed to Slovenian and Croatian companies with more than 50 employees. In Slovenian case, 203 completed questionnaires were returned (which accounts for 16.5% response rate) while in Croatia 202 completed questionnaires were returned to the research group (which accounts for 11.5% response rate). Received questionnaires from both countries allow us to compare the results and to implicitly test the impact of various country-based factors on the organizational learning phenomena. Using data gathered from two independent samples (Slovenia and Croatia) analysis of variance method and t-test were used in order to get the answer to our research question relating to differences in organizational learning and business process orientation between Slovenian and Croatian companies. Results indicate that Slovenian and Croatian companies differ only in 17 out of 48 items considering organizational learning research – especially in the way they acquire information and the way they perceive behavioral and cognitive changes currently under place. Croatian companies are more outward directed when acquiring information and are witnessing more turbulent changes in their internal as well as external business environment. Nevertheless, there are much more similar traits in the way Slovenian and Croatian companies learn than there are dissimilarities. However, there are some indications that Slovenian companies already bridged the transition period, while majority of Croatian companies still has to cross that bridge. Data analysis considering second part of the research revealed some important aspects of business process orientation in Slovenia and Croatia. It showed that Slovenian companies have reached slightly higher maturity level than Croatian companies, which was not surprising considering Croatian contemporary history. Though statistically significant, the difference is not large and the general state of the BPO in both countries is promising. Still, a lot is left to change and improve in order to transform the companies into process-oriented ones. The investigation also revealed some differences between both counties. Slovenian companies give more emphasis to the quality of process data and have monitoring and control systems in place to assure it. Besides that jobs are more frequently multidimensional and not just simple tasks in Slovenia then in Croatia. This is important aspect of process orientation whereby employees need to be equipped with wide arsenal of knowledge and skills in order to participate in different areas of a process. To realize BPO projects, most companies use different business process modelling/management methods and tools, which integrate components for static and dynamic modelling, measuring and monitoring the performance of the processes, as well as enabling the transformation of business process diagrams into tailor-made applications supporting the execution of workflows. The focus of this paper is to discuss the application of business process oriented concepts in different areas, depending on different projects' objectives and goals. The paper provides the results of a search in literature as well as a summary and comparison of features concerning business process modelling and business process management tools, placing them within an empirically derived framework.menadžment poslovnih procesa, menadžment znanja