CBU International Conference on Innovations in Science and Education
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PREVALENCE OF PREMENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS AMONG BULGARIAN WOMEN
No full textINTRODUCTION: Premenstrual symptoms are common and can worsen women's quality of life. This study examines the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms such as weight gain; swelling of ankles, feet, and hands; frequent change of mood; fatigue; difficulty concentrating; depression; nervousness and irritability; and nausea.
OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study are: (1) to reveal the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms among Bulgarian women and (2) to establish how the presence of premenstrual symptoms affects the Emotional well-being of women.
METHODS: The applied methodology includes an online-based anonymous study, which focuses on the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms among Bulgarian women and their emotional health. A characteristic of the studied contingent on age, BMI, and physical activity was made.
RESULTS: The results of 126 women surveyed were analyzed. Of these, 96.8% have at least one premenstrual symptom. 30.2% have one or two symptoms, 43.7% have 3-4 symptoms and 23% have 5-8 symptoms. 14.8% of women with symptoms reported worsening of their symptoms because of increased stress associated with COVID-19. There is a statistically significant correlation between the number of symptoms and the emotional well-being of women.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of premenstrual symptoms is common among the studied Bulgarian women. A greater number of symptoms has a negative effect on women's emotional well-being. We consider it appropriate to introduce the application of physiotherapeutic methods as well as alternative therapies for the treatment and prevention of premenstrual syndrome
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB SATISFACTION AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF IT EMPLOYEES
No full textPurpose – The main purpose of this research paper is to investigate the correlation between job satisfaction of employees in the IT sector and their personal performance. Additionally, the study examines the overall level of employee satisfaction, as well as if job satisfaction levels differ significantly among the studied demographic groups.
Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on quantitative analysis of data collected through a questionnaire containing answers of 126 international respondents from over 25 different IT companies. The research methods used are one-dimensional methods for preliminary analysis, Cronbach alpha for reliability and consistency, one-way ANOVA for mean values comparison and correlation analysis for examining relationships.
Findings – The findings show a moderate statistically significant correlation between job satisfaction and employees’ personal performance, which is bidirectional as influence and presumably depends on other variables like work engagement, motivation, stress or exhaustion, which were not examined in the current study. Additionally, most of the employees in the researched sample define themselves as satisfied with their jobs. Statistically significant variation of the mean job satisfaction levels was observed in two of the examined demographic variables – gender and years in the current position.
Practical implications – The research results can be beneficial for different organizations since job satisfaction is important for employees’ long-term retention, for increasing their commitment and loyalty towards the organization, as well as for the creation of a motivating and productive work environment. Employees’ job satisfaction and their personal performance should always be considered main organizational values and key for achieving excellent business results and market leadership.
Originality/value – The results of the current research are important for validating the position of these researchers, who claim that a positive correlation between an employees’ job satisfaction and their personal performance in the workplace exists and should not be neglected. Additionally, it contributes towards a better understanding of job satisfaction among IT employees
FEASIBILITY OF TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG BULGARIAN STEM STUDENTS: THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITY
No full textTechnology entrepreneurship involves the creation of a new business whose products and services are based on the application of scientific or technological knowledge. Technology entrepreneurship may play an important role for economic development in the context of increasing globalization. Little research attention has been devoted to the antecedents of the feasibility of technology entrepreneurship. The objective of this study is to identify university determinants of the feasibility of technology entrepreneurship among students enrolled in majors in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Bulgarian universities. The study uses a sample of 879 university students in STEM majors and applies a binary logistic regression to identify university factors related to the high feasibility of technology entrepreneurship. The results of the present study indicate that university support for entrepreneurship, industry ties and research excellence are related to the feasibility of technology entrepreneurship among Bulgarian STEM students. The empirical findings can help to devise policies and measures for enhancing the feasibility of technology entrepreneurship among STEM students
SPANISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN TERTIARY EDUCATION: THE ACTUAL SITUATION IN LATVIA
No full textThe data published by The Instituto Cervantes (2021) prove that Spanish language use in the world is constantly rising. The current number of native speakers is 489 million people, and there are more than 22 million learners worldwide. It is the fourth most spoken language in the EU and the third in the UN. The newest Latvian Educational Standard states that the first and second-level educational institutions should offer a minimum of two foreign language acquisition. Nevertheless, the Latvian Educational Curriculum does not include Spanish as an option; therefore, it lacks institutional support to establish Spanish studies in all educational levels with the proper follow-up. The article presents the current situation in various study programs proposed by several Latvian tertiary education institutions in 2020/2021. The data has been collected by contacting current Spanish lecturers and analyzing the current study programs offering Spanish language acquisition in tertiary education institutions mentioned in the article. The analysis presents the content of the study programs in the bachelor and master study levels and the estimated number of students in each study program. It is a panoramic insight into Latvia's Spanish language teaching situation, which is necessary to understand Latvian-speaking Spanish learners' needs, existing resources for Spanish language teaching, and a further perspective for promoting Spanish studies in Latvia. It proves a lack of institutional cooperation to provide the constant Spanish language acquisition from the first till the tertiary educational level that would improve the general recognition of Spanish and its need in Latvian society as a part of the European Union
ATTITUDES TOWARDS SAME-SEX PARTNERSHIP: A SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN SPLIT (CROATIA)
No full textOne of the current dilemmas of modern society is how to look at homosexuals, same-sex partners, forming same-sex partnerships, and raising children in such communities. Homosexuals are classified as sexual minorities and are often excluded from society, which is not new because members of sexual minorities have long been accompanied by numerous persecutions and repressions. This paper aims to examine the attitudes of young people towards homosexuality and same-sex partnership. The paper presents the results of the research conducted in 2019 using a survey method on a sample of 303 respondents aged 15 to 35 years. The results show that most young people do not consider homosexuality to be a disease and approach LGBT people in the same way as the rest of society, not paying attention to someone's sexual orientation. Respondents are predominantly open to the possibility of marriage between same-sex partners while they to a lesser extent agree with the adoption and upbringing of children by same-sex partners. They believe that there is a difference in the upbringing of children raised by same-sex partners from children raised by heterosexual partners, which can be justified by the discrimination and violence to which children of same-sex partners are exposed to. Also, young people think that homosexual parents can be good parents and provide their children with everything they need and that it is better for children to grow up in same-sex families than in homes for abandoned children. Although they state that such communities are almost equal to heterosexual communities, they are aware of their exposure to social exclusion
THE INTERNET AS A COMMUNICATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND ITS POLITICAL VALUE
No full textThe work presents some results obtained in the process of implementing two sociological studies of the consciousness of students in the South of Russia, conducted by the research team of the Southern Federal University in the period of 2014-2016 and 2018-2019. Methodologically, both studies included a series of free group interviews, questionnaires and focus groups. Analysis of the data obtained shows a significant shift in the sentiments of student youth towards greater opposition to the current government: if in 2015 less than two-thirds of the respondents (60.6%) believed that radical changes in Russia were impossible, then in 2019 more than two-thirds of respondents expected serious shocks (72.4%). Among the key reasons for the growing tension in Russian society, students name socio-economic (42.2%) and internal politics (50.0%). But the greatest resonance in the student mind is caused by the attempts of the Russian authorities to control the Internet. Thus, according to a survey conducted in 2019, 37.4% of respondents consider the Internet the most important source of information, and another third (29.5%) point to the anti-constitutional nature of these laws. Therefore, Internet restrictions may well become an annoying factor: 39.7% of those surveyed declared their readiness to take part in protests, if there are any. The analysis shows that the communicative value of the Internet is at a much deeper level of the cognitive structures of student consciousness than traditional political values. The value of Internet freedom turns out to be one of the most basic values for today's youth, comparable to fundamental values such as social connections, recognition, identity, etc
CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR ACQUIRING GEOMETRY KNOWLEDGE DURING THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION IN GRADE 3
No full textThe article systematized some theoretical concepts related to creativity as process and activity.
The researcher analyzed the expected results from the education in mathematics in grade 3 and particularly from competency Cluster “Geometry figures and bodies” included in the educational program approved by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Bulgaria. A new methodology system of work was developed and tested. The system includes tasks of a type that will facilitate the students to perform creative activities. Some of these tasks are presented in the research work.
Results of the empiric study have been processed using mathematics-statistics methods and are graphically presented. The results demonstrated that the students successfully performed creative activities during the process of acquiring geometry knowledge.
The problem-productive strategy of education applied during education in mathematics for grade 3 students provoked them to perform creativity activity and created preconditions for development in the students of knowledge, skills, competences, and competencies related to geometry figures.  
IMPACT OF DISTANCE LEARNING ON THE MOTOR ABILITIES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL-AGED PUPILS
No full textThe article compares the results of motor strength tests of primary school students to establish the impact of distance learning imposed by the authorities in the Republic of Bulgaria at the end of 2020 in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether educational tools affect the motor abilities of students. To achieve this goal, motor tests are conducted at the beginning of the school year and after the end of the online training.
Methods: The empirical methods used are tests to assess physical performance by jumping from a place with two legs to measure the explosive power of the lower limbs and throwing a solid ball to measure the explosive power of the upper limbs, shoulder girdle, and abdominal muscles. The statistical methods are the relative values of the structure – an absolute sum of the structural differences and integral coefficient of structural differences, as well as correlation and comparative analyzes.
Findings and results: The results of the experiment show that the strength achievements of students are not affected by the type of training
TO DEVELOP FORENSIC CRITERIA FOR THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF INTRACEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE OF TRAUMATIC AND NON-TRAUMATIC ORIGIN USING MUELLER-MATRIX MICROSCOPY OF LINEAR DICHROISM
No full textDifferential diagnosis of intracerebral hemorrhage due to traumatic and non-traumatic origin is a challenging issue, especially in the absence of visible body injuries and other signs of violence. For a forensic expert-practitioner, the main thing is objectivity, accuracy, and speed of obtaining the result, which could fully satisfy the methods of laser polarimetry in the case of differential diagnosis of hemorrhages of traumatic and non-traumatic origin in the human brain matter.
The purpose: To develop forensic criteria for the differential diagnosis of intracerebral hemorrhage of traumatic and non-traumatic origin using Mueller-matrix microscopy of linear dichroism.
Materials and methods: The object of the study was brain matter samples, collected in 115 corpses of both sexes aged 22 to 86 years with accurately known causes of death. The causes of death included coronary artery disease, traumatic brain hemorrhage, ischemic brain infarction, and non-traumatic brain hemorrhages. Brain matter samples have been frozen rapidly, and histological sections have been made using a freezing microtome. The slices have been evaluated using the method of azimuthal-invariant Mueller-matrix microscopy, followed by mathematical and statistical processing of the results.
Results: significant topographic heterogeneity of Mueller-matrix invariants of brain matter samples linear dichroism maps among all research groups have been found. Individual and significant variations of dispersion, asymmetry, and kurtosis magnitude have confirmed the heterogeneity of Mueller-matrix invariants. The difference of images and histograms among groups is explained by the presence of necrotic changes in the case of ischemic brain necrosis and blood cells in the brain matter samples. For the set of central statistical moments of the 1st, 3rd, and 4th orders, which characterize the distributions of circular dichroism, the method of MM-microscopy in the differentiation of samples of non-hemorrhage and hemorrhage groups reaches a satisfactory level - 78% - 84%.
Conclusions: Brain matter samples Muller-matrix microscopy of linear dichroism is effective for solving diagnostic problems of forensic medicine related to evaluating the cause of death from intracerebral hemorrhage of various origins. Diagnostic efficiency of Mueller-matrix mapping of polarization manifestations of linear dichroism method for intergroup differentiation of samples of deaths from traumatic hemorrhage (Group 2) and ischemic cerebral infarction (Group 3) reaches a satisfactory level of 79 - 84%
PROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF LEMNA MINOR L. IN CHRONIC BLEOMYCIN–INDUCED LUNG INFLAMMATION
No full textThis research investigates the probable effects of induced chronic (28 days) lung inflammations by Bleomycin (BLM) and its oxidative-toxicity protection by the aquatic extract of Lemna minor L. (LME). Balb/c male mice were in every two days exposed to: (1) a controlled normal diet, (2) an LME treatment (120 mg/kg bwt, i.p.), (3) a BLM treatment (0.34 U/kg bwt, i.p.), and (4) an LME (120 mg/kg bwt, i.p.) administered two hours prior to the BLM. At the 30 experimental days of chronic BLM administration, the mice were sacrificed and fresh lung tissue was collected for biochemical determination and EPR analysis. The BLM treatment significantly increased the biochemical indices two-fold (SOD, CAT, MDA, TC) than controls. Furthermore, lung/alveolar cell experiments were performed to investigate the LME modulative and oxidative-protection effect. The results revealed that LME alone and in combination (LME + BLM) inhibited BLM expression by significantly reducing EPR-ascorbate (p < 0.05), ROS production (p < 0.05), and by enhancing enzymatic antioxidants. As a conclusion, our results indicated that chronic BLM toxicity and lung inflammation could be neutralized by long-term LME treatment. Therefore, LME + BLM prevented the detrimental impacts of BLM and have proved to have a potential therapeutic effect on the oxidative stress biomarkers, antioxidant enzymes and alleviation of lung inflammations