Tomas Bata University in Zlín
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Understanding the relationships between health spending, treatable mortality and economic productivity in OECD countries
Get PDFIntroduction: Population health is one of the highest priorities for countries, which can translate into increased economic prosperity. This encourages research on health in an economic context. Methods: The objective was to assess the relationships between health spending, treatable respiratory mortality, and gross domestic product (GDP) in countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The research was conducted with respect to health systems (tax-based, insurance-based) and gender differentiation of the productive population (aged 25–64 years). Descriptive analysis, regression analysis, and cluster analysis were used to achieve the main objective. The data covered the period from 1994 to 2016. Results: The results of the regression analysis revealed negative relationships between health spending and treatable respiratory mortality in countries with a tax-based health system for male and female working-age populations, as well as in countries with an insurance-based health system for male population. This means that higher health spending was associated with lower treatable respiratory mortality. Also, lower treatable mortality was associated with higher GDP, especially in the male productive population from countries with an insurance-based health system. In this study, countries with a tax-based health system were characterized by higher health spending, lower rates of treatable mortality from respiratory system diseases, and higher GDP compared to countries with an insurance-based health system. Males reported a higher mortality rate than females. Among the countries with a tax-based health system, the United Kingdom and Latvia showed less positive outcomes, while Italy and Iceland were the countries with the most positive outcomes. Among the countries with an insurance-based health system, Hungary and Slovakia reported poor outcomes, while France, Switzerland and Luxembourg were characterized by very positive outcomes. The United States showed a high mortality rate despite its high economic outcomes, i.e., health spending and GDP. Discussion: Health care financing in particular is one of the instruments of health policy. It seems that the leaders of countries should ensure a sufficient level of health financing, as higher health spending can contribute to lower mortality rates in a country. This may translate into higher productivity. Especially countries with underfunded health systems should increase their health spending. Copyright © 2022 Ivankova, Gavurova and Khouri.Tomas Bata University in Zlin, TBU: RO/2022; Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV, VEGA: 1/0797/2
Factor structure of the Self-Regulation Questionnaire among adult learners from Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic
Get PDFBackground: One of the most significant human qualities is the ability to develop, implement, and flexibly maintain planned behaviour in order to achieve one's goals. Self-regulation has become a relatively well-researched area in the field of psychology and pedagogy. However, empirically valid and reliable instrument is still missing across European context. The primary goal of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Czech version of the Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-CZ) among adult learners from Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the SRQ-CZ validated in the Czech educational context in a multi-cultural sample.
Methods: A total of 1711 adult learners from European countries including Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic completed the SRQ-CZ. The first step to reviewing the validity of the SRQ-CZ included testing face validity. Furthermore, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on half the sample and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the other half. Measurement invariance was conducted across gender, age, and country followed by the evaluation of the reliability of the final instrument.
Results: EFA showed that a three-factor structure best fit the data. The originally proposed Impulse Control and Self-Direction are merged into one distinct factor, while Decision Making and Goal Orientation comprise the other two. Goodness-of-fit statistics yielded from CFA showed a good fit for the model, introducing a reliable and measurement invariant instrument.
Conclusion: The present study used a diverse multi-cultural sample to explore the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the SRQ-CZ. A three-factor model was obtained as the result of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Further analysis aiming at measurement invariance, comparing the sample according to gender, age, and country, led to satisfactory results. The only exception was a lack of model fit in the case of Serbia. Although further psychometric evaluation of the SRQ-CZ is still needed, the presented results constitute significant findings, confirming instrument validity and utility as a measure of generalized self-regulation capacity across adult learners in European educational context.DANUBE project: Development of new andragogical diagnostic approaches and interventions of the adult docility phenomenon; [2020-1-SK01-KA204-078313
Use of the CPTED methodology (Crime prevention through environmental design) and fire protection principles in the design of the new form of gas stations and their surroundings
Get PDFGas stations are an integral part of public space. However, they are not only a place of buying and selling but, unfortunately, also a place with significant risks, which include robberies and, at the same time, the possibility of fires and explosions. The article is focused on safety at gas stations and a theoretical presentation of the CPTED methodology. Together with the principles of fire protection, they should contribute to the level of a safe environment. The work proposes introducing and observing measures to increase gas station safety.IGA/FAI/2022/00
Measurement and modeling of uniaxial and planar extensional viscosities for linear isotactic polypropylenes
Get PDFIn this work, novel rectangular and circular orifice (zero-length) dies were used to measure planar and uniaxial extensional viscosities as a function of strain rate for various linear isotactic polypropylene melts by using Cogswell methodology. The obtained experimental data were combined with shear and uniaxial extensional viscosity data determined at very high strain rates. The ability of the molecularized generalized Newtonian fluid (mGNF) [M. Zatloukal and J. Drabek, "Generalized Newtonian fluid constitutive equation for polymer liquids considering chain stretch and monomeric friction reduction for very fast flows modeling, " Phys. Fluids 33(8), 083106 (2021)], Giesekus, and explicit Yao constitutive equations to describe the measured data was tested. It has been shown that including the effect of the chemical environment (i.e., the role of the oligomeric solvent) using a simplified version of the mGNF constitutive equation (instead of the commonly used Newton's law) can significantly improve the ability of the Giesekus and Yao viscoelastic constitutive equations to describe the measured experimental data, especially at very high strain rates with using adjustable parameters with a clear physical meaning.Grantová Agentura České Republiky, GA ČR: 21‐09174SGrant Agency of the Czech Republic; [21-09174S
Automatic short answer grading (ASAG) using attention-based deep learning MODEL
No full textIn artificial intelligence, automatic short answer grading (ASAG) sparked the interest of many researchers. These Systems are used to evaluate the student's performance based on their intellectual and cognitive skills. Unfortunately, short answer grading poses various challenges to assess individual abilities. The first challenge, short sentences can be 10 to 20 words long. These short sentences include primary and secondary keywords, identifying such keywords is a challenge for syntactic processing. Furthermore, the order and relationship among the words affect the actual meaning of the answers. Answers provided by students may not be syntactically correct. The second challenge is different question types included in the short text:-factoid, descriptive, short, and long questions. Different question types influence the intent of the answer which affects the precision of grading accuracy. As a result, strategies for overcoming these problems in the assessment are required. In this study, we have proposed the attention-based deep learning model known as bidirectional encoder representation from a transformer (BERT) for the evaluation of short subjective answers. The measurement findings indicate that the BERT model is effective for automatic short answer grading. © 2022 IEEE
Mechanical, thermal and rheological properties of e-beam crosslinked ethylene octene copolymer
No full textEthylene-octene copolymer (EOC) with high octene content (45 wt.%) was crosslinked via electron beam irradiation at different dosages (30, 60, 90, and 120 kGy). Effect of irradiation dosage on thermal and mechanical properties was studied. When compared to low density polyethylene, EOC exhibited higher degree of crosslinking reflected in increased gel content, higher elastic modulus (G'), and lower tanδ obtained by rheology measurement at 150 °C. Crosslinking caused improvement in high temperature creep and also in elastic properties at room and elevated temperatures. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that e-beam irradiation has caused a gradual reduction in crystallinity and a presence of a fraction with higher melting temperature. In the case of EOC, as the extent of crosslinking increased, stress at break showed an increasing trend whereas irradiation dosage had an inverse effect on elongation at break which could be aroused from the formation of crosslink networks. Radiation dosage has positive effect on thermal stability estimated by thermogravimetric analysis. After 30 min of thermal degradation at 220 °C, slightly higher C=O peak for crosslinked sample was found by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy while for room temperature samples no C=O peak was detected. © 2022 Society of Plastics Engineers. All rights reserved
In situ observation of hyaluronan molecular weight effectiveness within articular cartilage lubrication
Get PDFDegradation of the articular cartilage (AC) structure due to osteoarthritis significantly influences its friction and lubrication mechanisms. Injection with exogenous hyaluronic acid (HA) is one of the ways to slow down the progress of these changes. The present paper aims to determine the effect of HA on the friction and lubrication processes of the synovial joint model. The main emphasis is placed on the effect of HA molecular weight (MW) on the coefficient of friction (COF) and the interactions between HA and other constituents of synovial fluid (SF). Frictional measurements between the AC surface and the glass were performed with simultaneous in situ observation of the contact zone by fluorescence microscopy. Using this methodology, a decrease in AC COF with an increase in the fluorescence intensity emitted from contact with HA was observed, while the phenomenon was found to be MW-dependent. These findings demonstrate that high-MW HA is more effective within a resumption of healthy AC lubrication due to a better adhesion to the AC surface.Grantová Agentura České Republiky, GA ČRCzech Science Foundation [20-00483S
Modeling GHRM, green human capital, and environmental performance; Moderating role of pro-environmental attitude
Get PDFIn the world's era of global warming, organizations are under intensive pressure to reduce industrial waste, minimize carbon emissions, and general demand for more responsible work practices to manage a suitable environment. Therefore, the study aims to examine the connection between GHRM, green capital, and environmental performance and moderate the role of a pro-environmental attitude. The population of this study is based on the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in Pakistan. It includes top and middle management (i.e., CEOs, Directors, General Managers, HR, Operations, Logistics, and Supply Chain Managers of pharmaceutical manufacturing firms). The sample selection assumes that they are aware of the practices and know the subject matter of the study. Therefore, the cluster random sampling technique was used for sample selection. In total, 525 questionnaires were distributed and 347 were the final unit of analysis for this study. The results reveal that GHRM and green capital positively and significantly affect GSCM and environmental performance. Moreover, it was revealed that the pro-environmental attitude moderates the relationship between GHRM, green capital, and environmental performance. So, this study contributes to the available literature on GHRM, green capital, and environmental performance. This study provides policymakers and managers with guidelines to pay attention to environmental performance. Hence, the findings support direct and indirect hypotheses with various theoretical and managerial implications for management and policymakers to ensure the contributing factors of environmental performance
Vibroacoustics of the heat pump housing and sound propagation through the surrounding area
No full textAcoustics is a discipline that has been discussed in more and more sectors over the years. This trend is very closely linked to the current trends in the manufacturing industry to lighten materials, which has a negative impact on the ability to dampen sound [1]. Noise requirements come from the customer and are reflected in the various noise regulations that manufacturers try to meet with their products. Of particular importance are devices which perform reciprocating or rotary motion and are located in the protected space of buildings. A good example is an air-to-water/air-to-air heat pump, which is a device that operates for a significant part of the day. This paper discusses the individual stages of the analysis leading to the determination of the noise at the listener's location and addressing the effect of structure-born noise on the overall sound of the device. A simple model of a heat pump housing was used as an example. © 2022 IEEE
Socio-cognitive optimization of time-delay control problems using evolutionary metaheuristics
No full textMetaheuristics are universal optimization algorithms which should be used for solving difficult problems, unsolvable by classic approaches. In this paper we aim at constructing novel socio-cognitive metaheuristic based on castes, and apply several versions of this algorithm to optimization of time-delay system model. Besides giving the background and the details of the proposed algorithms we apply them to optimization of selected variants of the problem and discuss the results. © 2022 IEEE.978-1-5090-6008-5/17/$31.00; Grantová Agentura České Republiky, GA ČR: GF21-45465L; Narodowe Centrum Nauki, NCN: /35/O/ST6/00570, 2020/39/I/ST7/02285; Ministerstwo Edukacji i Nauki, MNiS