Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje: Journals / Универзитет "Св. Кирил и Методиј"-Скопје
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STRATEGIES AND METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN CHOOSING A RESEARCH SAMPLE
Get PDFThe text defines the fundamental terms relevant to the process of sampling, elaborates the characteristics of individual samples, selection strategies, and the key methodological issues and dilemmas of the researchers during the procedures of sampling.
The selection of a sample is an essential aspect when planning the methodology of empirical research and has a key role in ensuring the reliability and validity of research results. Researchers should carefully consider the characteristics of the population and the specific research objectives and accordingly choose the sampling strategy.
Representative samples minimize bias and provide a higher level of confidence when generalizing results to a larger population. Non-representative samples are valuable when the selection of a representative sample is impractical or impossible. They involve different forms of bias but offer flexibility, cost-effectiveness and practicality. Non-representative samples are applicable in qualitative studies and in the research with populations that are hard to reach. However, it is important to be aware of their limitations and the justification for generalization findings outside the specific sample.
Regardless of the used strategy, researchers must strive for transparency, clearly documenting the unit selection procedure and stress the potential limitations as key elements to ensure the reliability and validity of the research results
MEASURING POPULIST ATTITUDES – PSYCHOMETRIC CARACTRERISTICS OF THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL SCALE
Get PDFTo address the issue of the growing need for measuring populist attitudes, researchers have proposed several instruments with different theoretical backgrounds in conceptualizing the construct. This study aimed to verify the psychometric properties of the recently developed Three-dimensional populist scale by Shultz and her associates. As opposed to scales which define populist attitudes as uni-dimensional constructs, this one is based on the presumption that it is a latent higher-order construct with three distinct first-order dimensions.
The convenient sample was comprised of 535 participants, all ethnic Macedonians (53.1% women) from 25 urban (52.6% from the capital city) and 15 rural areas of the country, with average age M = 36.2 (SD = 12.4) and mostly (65%) with completed high school. All participants voluntarily answered the set of selected instruments which included two populist attitudes scales, several other scales the measure related variables and demographic data.
The psychometric characteristics of the instrument in this particular cultural context were explored by performing item-analysis, factor analysis and testing the proposed hypotheses generated on the basis of previous relevant research. Results confirmed the three-dimensional structure of the Shultz’s scale with excellent fit indicators, while the Alpha coefficients showed acceptable reliability of the scale and its subscales. The construct dimensions exhibit significant associations with other measures expected to be related to populist attitudes endorsement.
It was concluded that the Shultz et al. three-dimensional scale on populist attitudes translated in Macedonian is adequate to be used as a measure of this variable and that its efficacy for predicting electoral choices should be further scrutinized
UKRAINE BETWEEN NATO AND RUSSIA
Get PDFIn the past two decades, Ukraine has significantly deepened its relations with NATO. Following Russia’s seizure of Crimea and instigation of conflict in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas in 2014, Ukraine’s interest in NATO entry has particularly intensified. According to public opinion polls in Ukraine, membership in the Alliance is critical to the country’s security. On the other hand, Russia presents the further expansion of NATO to the east as the main threat to its national security. The current developments on the ground and the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia will affect NATO’s attitude towards Ukraine’s membership prospects in the Alliance. The potential for further escalation of the war in Ukraine is significant, although it is more likely that the war will flare up and target Ukrainian forces and the civilian population, but the likelihood of the involvement of the Western Allies in the conflict is also more certain. Ukrainian authorities will have to limit their expectations for NATO membership and focus only on maximum cooperation with the Alliance
OBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL TESTS FOR AUDIOLOGIC ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN WITH SUSPECTED HEARING LOSS
Get PDFAudiologic assessment of infants and young children with suspected hearing loss requires selection of differential diagnostic techniques that are age-appropriate and appropriate to the child’s developmental capabilities.
Objective assessment includes electrophysiologic and electroacoustic methods: otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem response, auditory steady-state response, tympanometry and acoustic reflex. The use of behavioural methods in audiologic assessment requires a response from the patient. Depending on the child’s age, the following methods can be performed: visual reinforcement audiometry, conditioned play audiometry, pure tone audiometry, and speech audiometry.
Audiologic assessment in infants and children provides estimation of auditory sensitivity, evaluation of the integrity of auditory system andidentification of possible intervention options in case of existing hearing loss. Early detection and treatment of hearing loss in childhood is essential to ensure optimal speech and language development in the early years of life and optimal school performance for older children
Solidarity in Southeast European Swiss family networks during Covid-19
Get PDFFamily solidarity in Southeast European Swiss families was challenged by the state border closures due to Covid-19. The interviewees in our exploratory study (2021, 2023) emphasize the additional geographical and emotional difficulties during the pandemic of staying connected with the seniors in the Southeast European countries, as well as the increased sense of obligation of care. For the families with senior citizens from the mentioned countries in Switzerland however, the question of family solidarity looks quite different due to the existing state social insurances. Within a situation of crisis, what happens to the much-cited family solidarity serving as a safety net in Southeast European countries in a situation of low social welfare? How can we compare these trans-European families caring for seniors across European borders with the care of those seniors within the welfare state of Switzerland? The qualitative, actor-centred content analysis of twelve family interviews is oriented by a decolonial social work perspective. The contribution therefore focuses on the action strategies of family members living in Switzerland vis-à-vis senior citizens living in Kosovo, Serbia or North Macedonia and contrasts these with the experiences of families with senior citizens from Southeast Europe in Switzerland. The experiences during the pandemic sharpen the comprehension for the challenges of a cross-border social policy, on the one hand regarding the importance of family solidarity in accordance of the family composition, and on the other hand regarding a network of solidarity rooted in public social institutions
COOPERATION OR COMPETITION DURING THE PANDEMIC OF COVID-19? A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF REALPOLITIC WORLDVIEW
Get PDFThe Covid-19 virus emerged firstly in the Wuhan city of China in late 2019 andquickly spread to the rest of the world. A few months later the states and World HealthOrganization securitized the virus, then it has become a severely full-scale health crisis atthe global level. The Covid-19 pandemic has threatened all humanity irrespective of race,nation, religion, and ethnicity except socio-economic class, and has brought widespreadinsecurity, risk, and uncertainty around the world. Moreover, the pandemic has been a testfor cooperative relations among states in the international system. The Covid-19 pandemicis a global problem but the response against the virus has been mostly national during thepandemic. In this context, the paper aims to evaluate the pandemic conditions critically andmakes a comparison between the pre-pandemic era and the pandemic era of world politics.The paper concludes that although global problems ask for global solutions, concepts suchas egocentrism, nationalism, and national security have increased their importance in theinternational system instead of cooperation and global solidarity during the pandemic
NATIONAL COUNTER TERRORISM POLICY AS A CRISIS MENAGMENT TOOL
Get PDFThe current study examines the effects of one of the modern crises nowadays, andthat is the terrorism. Today’s terrorist threats have changed, and terrorist groups are now more geographically dispersed and their tactics more diversified. To address this evolving terrorist threat across the globe and within the homeland, our approach to counterterrorism must evolve. The preparation for a terrorist attack, a rampage, hostage taking or other violentattacks is an essential part of crisis management these days. Rapid, careful intervention isoften vital in situation of terrorism and other external threats. Time is a very decisive factorin exceptional and critical situations. Accordingly, an essential prerequisite to ensuring thatour formidable resources are focused where they can have the most effect is a sober andempirical understanding of the threat coupled with a clear, comprehensive, and coherentstrategy. Without such a strategy, we risk embracing policies and pushing solutions thatmay not only be dated, but may have become irrelevant. We also lose sight of current andprojected trends and patterns and thereby risk preparing to counter and respond to possibly illusory threats and challenges
THE RELATIONSHIP OF COACHING SESSIONS ATTENDANCE WITH PERSONAL GROWTH AND GENERAL SELF-EFFICACY IN GREEK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: EMPIRICAL SECTION
Get PDFCoaching is a social phenomenon which transcends the boundaries of a particularprofession. Coaching teaches individuals new ways of thinking and how to learn.One of the basic principles of the coaching procedure is self-directed learning. Coaching isdominant in Western culture nowadays since people have recognized that it is a modernneed, a prerequisite for their personal and social growth in their lives. Coaching startedas Organizational Coaching, as a service offered in organizations. However, it was establishedas a practice years later, in the 1980s, taking various forms in Education as well.To date, very little empirical research exists on educational coaching for students in Highschools, both in Greece and worldwide. Previous studies have used population samples ofpeople of different ages and mainly adult community samples, for example students inhigher education and institutions. While hundreds of higher education institutions haveimplemented coaching programs to help with student success, few coaching programshave been introduced in high schools. Furthermore, most of the literature about coachingat schools shows that coaching for educators has been studied extensively, while theinfluence coaching can have on students has been underestimated. The main goal of thisspecific research is to investigate the hypothesis that coaching intervention for final year/secondary high school students impacts their self-efficacy and personal growth positively.It utilizes a quantitative repeated-measures quasi-experimental design with the use ofa questionnaire
THE TRAJECTORY OF POSTREVOLUTIONARY RUSSIAN DIASPORA THOUGHT AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO RUSSIAN EXCEPTIONALISM
Get PDFAttention is being paid to the rise of post-Soviet nationalism, particularly giventhe conflict in Ukraine. To this end, the present paper examines Russian thought and itsrelationship to exceptionalism in the context of the post-Revolutionary diaspora. Examiningthe prevailing approach taken to freedom of thought, in light of Nikolai Berdyaev, Fr.Sergius Bulgakov and other thinkers, a trajectory can be identified that departs from theexceptionalist narrative. In the diaspora, this was accented by emergence in the contextof the ecumenical movement and the keenness demonstrated by the emigres, which wasfitting to the East / West interaction of the movement. In an important sense, the notionof Sobornost emerged as a sign of the diaspora’s theological development – in light theevolution of the notion and its ecclesiological aspect, but also in the journal by the samename, which was published under the auspices of the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius.This altogether demonstrates a trajectory of thought that emerged in the diasporaintelligentsia, which stood in opposition to exceptionalism, messianic or nationalist sentiments,inasmuch as it was a inheritor of pre-Revolutionary Russian thought, is a contrastto the post-Soviet milieu
ПРОВЕРКА НА ПСИХОМЕТРИСКИ КАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ НА СКАЛА ПРИФАЌАЊЕ МОДЕРНИ МИТОВИ ЗА СЕКСУАЛНА АГРЕСИЈА
Get PDFИстражувањето е фокусирано на проверка на психометриските карактеристики на скалата за мерење на прифаќањето модерни митови за сексуалнаагресија во македонски контекст. Пригодниот примерок го сочинуваат 216учесници од кои 53,2 % беа жени. Нивната возраст е меѓу 18 и 71 години (М= 35,25; SD = 13,78) и сите се имаат стекнато најмалку со средно образование.Психометриските карактеристики на скалата на Гергер и соработниците беапроверени со спроведување анализа на тврдењата односно утврдување нанивната тежина и дискриминативност. За проверка на факторската валидност на скалата беше применета експлораторна факторска анализа (метод наглавни компоненти – со ротација Варимакс). Резултатите покажаа дека добиената структура не одговара на еднодимензионален модел како што предложиле авторите на скалата. Скалата има задоволителна внатрешна хомогености релијабилност.Врз основа на анализата, заклучено е дека со оглед на метриските карактеристики скалата може да се користи на наша популација. Се предлага повторување на анализата на поголеми примероци со цел да се обезбедат докази забројот на фактори на модело