CBU International Conference on Innovations in Science and Education
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ONTOLOGY OF THE BULGARIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE. BULGARIAN FOLKLORE
No full textThis article presents the creation of an ontology describing Bulgarian folklore. The ontology has been developed based on the CCO (Cataloging Cultural Objects) standard. CCO leads us to provide data content standards. The set of ontologies is a knowledge base used by intelligent agents. One of the main problems with systems and developments describing different cultural and/or historical sites is the difficulty in sharing information between individual societies or systems. The use of standards greatly facilitates the dissemination of data. The CCO standard provides clear and precise definitions of the individual attributes that an object must possess. The ontologies developed by Protégé are designed in such a way as to meet the requirements of the standard. The created ontologies describe 7 folklore areas with specific ones being: music, dances and musical instruments. The work on creating this ontology directs us to create web applications of the developed ontologies
PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF POVERTY IN SELECTED LIFE DIMENSIONS
No full textPoverty is a phenomenon that receives a lot of attention from a wide range of professionals as well as the lay public. This is a serious problem that significantly changes the lives and functions of individuals, families, as well as communities.
The aim of this study was to find out how society perceives the consequences of poverty in individual dimensions of human life selected by us and also to find differences in perception of the consequences of poverty in terms of the selected demographic data (gender, place where the respondent lives, place of residence – city or countryside, faith, employment status, shared household, benefits in material deprivation, and an opinion on who should primarily address the problem of poverty). A quantitative research strategy was implemented using a self-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire contained 37 items and focused on the perception of poverty and its consequences in our selected areas. The questionnaire contained 6 basic dimensions, resp. areas. These were the health area, the hygiene area, the social area, the psychological area, the structural area and the housing area. We used a deliberate and quota selection (region, gender). The total sample (n) consisted of 384 respondents. The average age of the respondents was 36.30 ± 12.91 years old (min. 18, max. 75).
The results did not show a statistically significant difference in the perception of areas most affected by poverty in terms of gender; in terms of receiving benefits in material need, there was a statistically significant difference in health, mental health, housing and social affairs. In terms of residence (countryside, city), a statistical difference was recorded only in the area of health. There were also significant statistical differences in the area of geography (the region in which the respondent lives), in the area of health and hygiene, and the structural area. The practice of faith has proven to be an important determinant of the perception of poverty, especially in the social and psychological spheres. We also noticed differences in the perception of poverty in some areas in terms of shared household and employment status
RUSSIAN YOUTH ABOUT RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND BELARUS — IMAGES OF COUNTRIES AND PEOPLES
No full textThe main goal of the present examination was to study the ideas of the Russian youth about Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus under existing social and political conditions. To this end, in 2018-2020, in a number of Moscow universities, sociological research was carried out, studying the images of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus as perceived by Russian students. As far back as 30 years ago, the Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians had been perceived as three tight-knit ethnic groups within a broader category of East Slavs, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union, three independent states were formed, whose fates began to develop in different ways. At the present time complicated by all sorts of political controversies between the three countries under consideration, it seems important to know how these countries, their leaders, and peoples appear to the young people of Russia, what their attitude is to certain significant recent political events, namely the events in Ukraine, and to the opposition movement in their own country. The main research method was a sociological survey plus a certain amount of psychological testing. In total, 600 people were interviewed in several major universities in Moscow. The materials were then processed using the SPSS computer program. Also, the students were asked to present their perceptions of the country, its people, and its leadership in drawings, making the images as emblematic as possible. The results of the study showed that despite the difficult socio-political situation, Russian youth demonstrate a rather positive attitude towards their own country and its leadership; they regret the conflict in Ukraine, sympathize with its people, and condemn the ongoing civil war in the east of the country. Russians perceive Belarus as a friendly country with which it is necessary to strengthen cooperation. The research materials may be useful to specialists dealing with the ethnic issues in the three countries and with their political, economic, and cultural construction
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY NURSE STUDENTS WHEN WORKING WITH ELDERLY PEOPLE
No full textDuring the training process, nurse students acquire knowledge, skills and competencies to work with different groups of patients. Working with elderly people has its difficulties and specificities. The acquisition of practical skills by students for planning and documenting individual health care for the elderly people is a process in which teachers and mentors have a leading role.
Objectives: To identify the factors which make it difficult for nurse students to work with elderly people.
Methods: The study involved 52 3rd year nurse students – from the Faculty of Medicine of Trakia University in Bulgaria.
A questionnaire was used, including open-ended and closed-ended questions, allowing more than one answer. The data was processed mathematically and graphically.
Results: The main difficulties for students in working with the elderly people are as follows: the process of communication (92.16%), difficult perception of new information (80.64%) and memory impairment in the elderly patient (61.44%); The main difficulties related to the organization of activity - insufficient experience in working with geriatric patients (92.16%); insufficient time for communication with patients (94.08%); lack of comfort in the patient's home (57.60%); a "Diary for tracking and self-monitoring of the condition" of an elderly person - it is very useful for 90.24% of students so that they can monitor the condition of the elderly person; It was found that 65.28% of students do not want to work with elderly people, as 46.09% of them indicate the motive for this as mental strain.
Conclusion: The teacher and the mentor are leading figures in preparing students to work with elderly people. The practical preparation for planning and documenting individual health care for elderly people is very important in the training process of nurse students
THERAPEUTIC MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS INFECTED WITH SARS-CoV-2 VIRUS - A REVIEW
No full textINTRODUCTION: Due to the rapid outbreak of the pandemic that causes SARS-CoV-2 infection and the increased rate of morbidity and mortality as a result of this new infection, the treatments pursued in therapy must have an increased potential to inhibit the replication of this virus.
OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this article was to describe the most current drug therapies and their mechanisms of action used in the treatment of COVID-19. In this article, we have collected the latest information and multilingual international scientific discoveries about the treatment of COVID-19.
RESULTS: Several compounds can be used to treat COVID-19 in order to reduce the duration of the disease and the rate of infection, to reduce the viral load, to prevent tissue damage, to stimulate the maturation of many cells, including immune cells in the human body and to reduce its severe symptoms. The most effective treatments were based on the antiviral drugs, antimalarial drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics drugs, glycopeptide antibiotics, anticoagulants, vitamin C and vitamin D. The simplest and most direct approach to controlling SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks is the use of passive antibodies transferred from plasma to convalescent patients. Recently, studies have been completed for several vaccines that are approved against SARS-CoV-2.
CONCLUSION: Scientists around the world are collaborating and innovating to make tests, treatments and vaccines available to the public that will save lives collectively and end this pandemic
ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO IMPROVE HOME OFFICE ERGONOMICS – RESULTS FROM A STUDY ON THE FIRST WAVE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN LATVIA
No full textIntroduction: Telework, also known as remote work, distance work, telecommuting, was gaining popularity already before the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite benefits, telework can also cause workers' mental and physical health, and forced telework during the COVID-19 pandemic has promoted the onset of these problems.
Objectives: The objective of the study was to analyze the management of ergonomics in teleworking workplaces and the association between pain longer than three days and preventive measures provided by employers in Latvia during the 1st emergency restrictions, which were in force between 12 March and 9 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Web-survey was used to gather information from respondents – workers. In total, 1006 workers fully filled in the questionnaire in October 2020. Four hundred eighty-three teleworkers of both genders were identified.
Results: 35.7% of respondents reported pain longer than three days. The odds of pain were increased in case of lack of all analyzed preventive measures. For those who reported not being provided with a computer and other IT equipment OR for pain was 1.50 (CI 0.95-2.37). Even higher OR was observed in case of not receiving advice on how to arrange an ergonomic workstation (OR= 2.37, CI 1.32-4.25) and not having identified working conditions (OR= 2.61, CI 1.43-4.77). The highest risk was observed if the employer had not provided an office table and office chair (OR=5.46, CI 1.78-16.80).
Conclusion: Teleworkers not receiving support from the employer on the arrangement of home offices have an increased risk of having pain for longer than three days. Provision of an office worktable, an office chair, advice on how to arrange an ergonomic workplace and provision of workplace risk assessment are key measures to be taken by the employer to improve home office ergonomics of their workers
JUSTIFYING THE NEED FOR IMPROVED HEALTH EDUCATION OF OBESE ADULT PATIENTS IN BULGARIA
No full textBulgaria is the second-fastest aging nation in Eastern Europe and fifth in the world. Older people are the largest and ever-growing group of people in health care. The most common diseases in this age group are circulatory, endocrine, digestive, musculature, neoplasms, and respiratory systems. Some of the main reasons for these diseases include an unhealthy diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity.
One hundred twelve adult patients with chronic diseases were interviewed.
The aim of the study is to establish the awareness of older people about overweight-related problems. In order to increase their knowledge and improve their quality of life and independence, we prepared a training program (Table4)
DETERMINANTS OF SME ACCESS TO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE VISEGRAD GROUP COUNTRIES
No full textThis article aims to investigate the factors influencing the success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in public procurement in the Visegrad Group Countries. According to the European Union, tools such as the division of contracts into smaller lots or the evaluation of tenders based on the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) increase the chances of SME’s winning contracts in public procurement. In particular, the evaluation of tenders based on MEAT rather than the lowest price is a tool favoring SMEs, as it boosts their innovative potential, which creates the preconditions for achieving the best value for taxpayers' money. By analyzing more than 150,000 contract award notices published in the Tenders Electronic Daily in 2019, we found a positive effect on SMEs' chances of winning a contract when using framework agreements or dividing contracts into smaller lots. Moreover, the results of multinomial logit regression suggest that the evaluation of tenders based on MEAT rather than lowest prices increases the chances of SMEs to win the contract by more than 50%. However, the findings that the share of SMEs in the total financial value of contracts is less than 20%, with SMEs winning more than 60% of all contracts, suggest that some obstacles of SMEs' access to public contracts, such as financial, administrative or technical complexity of projects may persist and require further research
DYNAMIC LINKAGES BETWEEN STOCK MARKETS: EVIDENCE FROM USA, GERMANY, CHINA AND RUSSIA
No full textCurrently, financial markets are growing rapidly, which increases the necessity to examine the financial sector. Considering the Russian Federation, the amount of private investors has doubled in Russia since the beginning of 2020 (Finam, 2020). It is important to realize how cash flows between the largest stock market indices. The main hypothesis of the research suggests that the U.S., Germany, and China markets result in significant changes in the Russian stock market. The research objective is to determine the degree of the Russian stock market dependence on the markets of developed and developing countries using methods of econometric analysis. Daily data on S&P500, DAX30, Hang Seng, and Moscow Exchange Index from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019, were taken. The research method chosen is a cointegration approach, including the construction of vector autoregression and vector error-correction models and the application of Impulse Response Functions. The results of the Granger causality test reveal no significant interconnection between the Dax30 and the Moscow Stock Exchange Index; the S&P500 affects the Moscow Exchange Index, whereas the Russian stock market affects the Chinese one. According to the cointegration analysis, there is a strong positive influence of the American stock market on the Russian stock market, which does not decrease during the researched period. The stock indices of China and Germany show a weak quantitative influence and mixed dynamics for a long time. The results of the research could be used as recommendations for making management decisions by private investors, hedge funds and managers of large companies
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCE OF LONELINESS BETWEEN BULGARIANS AND RUSSIANS
No full textLoneliness is a painful and alienating experience, which is an increasingly widespread phenomenon all over the globe. However, this phenomenon is perceived and interpreted differently in the world. The present study aims to compare the emotional, social, and romantic loneliness between Bulgarians and Russians. The two Slavic countries are historically and culturally close, but at the same time, there are many differences. Some studies have found that in the minds of both Russian and Bulgarian young people, loneliness is associated with both negative and positive aspects. This creates a common ground for the analysis and interpretation of this phenomenon in both countries. But the Russian people are more characterized by a positive-resource view of loneliness, while Bulgarian young people emphasize the negative. The study involved 608 people from Bulgaria and Russia aged 18-73 years. They completed the short version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults by Di Tommaso E., Brannen C., Best L.A. (2004). The results indicated that „romantic loneliness“was108 the most pronounced and present with its frequency in the content of the overall experience of loneliness. This outlines deficits, expectations, and emotions that are realized / function / in the deeply personal world of the person, of the studied groups of adults both in Bulgaria and in Russia. In second place in terms of its representation is the "social loneliness", which stands out among the studied adults from Bulgaria according to its marginal values. In the third place as third structural-content component is the "emotional loneliness", which is especially present in the experiences of the respondents from Bulgaria in comparison with those from Russia. Statistically significant results on the factors "country", “age” and "marital status" are also discussed