scholarly journals Development of intuition in a new currency, the Euro: The Slovak experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Kubascikova ◽  
Jeff Evans ◽  
Hafiz T.A. Khan

Adaptation to an unfamiliar currency is required regularly of international travellers – and also of citizens of countries changing their currency, such as the 19 (to date) Eurozone members. We report on the currency adaptation process in the Slovak Republic during 2008-2011. We analyse its effects on citizens’ development of price intuition in the euro. Our study draws on Hofmann et al.’s (2007) work, which proposed four different strategies for coping, ranging from direct numerical conversion to developing intuition. We conducted repeated cross-sectional surveys using structured questionnaires in realistic Slovak settings. We describe European and Slovak institutions’ supports for the public, such as dual display of prices, and readily available conversion tables. We found that, whereas the numerical conversion strategy was used most frequently by respondents in the first year, within two years they were already developing intuition in the new currency, especially for frequently bought products. We also investigated the ‘Euro Illusion’, the extent to which Slovak citizens, in their evaluation of prices, may have been influenced to make decisions based on nominal values, whereby prices in euros seemed smaller than those in Slovak crowns. We summarise suggestions for promoting learning in situations of currency change, and briefly discuss the features of the Slovak process as a ‘numerate environment’. KeywordsPrice intuition; numeracy; learning; intuition strategy; marker value strategy; anchor strategy; numerical conversion strategy.

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 266-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isadora Mello Vilarinho Soares ◽  
Alynne Moreira Reis Borges da Silva ◽  
Lúcia de Fátima Almeida de Deus Moura ◽  
Marina de Deus Moura de Lima ◽  
Otacílio Batista de Sousa Nétto ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: Pediatricians are health professionals who treat the child during the first years of their life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the conduct adopted by pediatricians regarding the oral health of children. METHOD: This was a descriptive cross-sectional observational study with a sample of 100 physicians specialized in pediatrics, working in the public and private sectors. A questionnaire was used for data collection, and the pediatricians were approached in their workplaces. RESULT: Most pediatricians (69%) belong to the female gender, with an average age of 48 years, and work in both the public and private sectors of health and have over 20 years of professional experience. Regarding their level of knowledge on oral health, 59% consider it to be good and 59% said that they had not been approached about this issue during their training in pediatrics. Ninety-two percent routinely examine the oral cavity of the baby; 64% recommend the use of fluoridated toothpaste, and 66.7% direct patients to a dental appointment in the first year of life. Regarding breastfeeding at night, 55.6% do not make the association between breastfeeding and the onset of early childhood caries. Furthermore, 74.7% do not justify the associations between the eruption of the first primary teeth and systemic manifestations, and 93% contraindicate the use of a dummy. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that pediatricians have proactive attitudes with regards to oral health. However, they need more information on the importance of fluoride for the control of dental caries


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-164
Author(s):  
Rubiane Inara Wagner ◽  
Patrícia Molz ◽  
Camila Schreiner Pereira

O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a frequência do consumo de alimentos processados e ultraprocessados e verificar a associação entre estado nutricional por adolescentes do ensino público e privado do município de Arroio do Tigre, RS. Trata-se de um estudo transversal realizado com adolescentes, com idade entre 10 e 15 anos, de uma escola pública e uma privada de Arroio do Tigre, RS. O estado nutricional foi avaliado pelo índice de massa corporal. Aplicou-se um questionário de frequência alimentar contendo alimentos processados e ultraprocessados. A amostra foi composta por 64 adolescentes com idade média de 12,03±1,15 anos, sendo 53,1% da escola pública. A maioria dos adolescentes encontravam-se eutróficos (p=0,343), e quando comparado com o consumo de alimentos processados e ultraprocessados, a maioria dos escolares eutróficos relataram maior frequência no consumo de balas e chicletes (50,0%) e barra de cereais (51,0%), de 1 a 3 vezes por semana (p=0,004; p=0,029, respectivamente). Houve também uma maior frequência de consumo de alimentos processados e ultraprocessados como pizza (73,5%; p0,001), refrigerante (58,8%; p=0,036) e biscoito recheado (58,8%; p=0,008) entre 1 a 3 vezes por semana na escola pública em comparação a escola privada. O consumo de suco de pacote (p=0,013) foi relatado não ser consumido pela maioria dos alunos da escola particular em comparação a escola pública. Os dados encontrados evidenciam um consumo expressivo de alimentos processados e ultraprocessados pelos adolescentes de ambas as escolas, destacando alimentos com alto teor de açúcar e sódio.Palavras-chave: Hábitos alimentares. Adolescentes. Alimentos industrializados. ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to compare the frequency of consumption of processed and ultraprocessed foods and to verify the association between nutritional status by adolescents from public and private schools in the municipality of Arroio do Tigre, RS. This was a cross-sectional study conducted with adolescents, aged 10 to 15 years, from a public school and a private school in Arroio do Tigre, RS. Nutritional status was assessed by body mass index. A food frequency questionnaire containing processed and ultraprocessed foods was applied. The sample consisted of 64 adolescents with a mean age of 12.03±1.15 years, 53.1% of the public school. Most of the adolescents were eutrophic (p=0.343), and when compared to the consumption of processed and ultraprocessed foods, most eutrophic schoolchildren reported a higher frequency of bullets and chewing gum (50.0%) and cereal bars (51.0%), 1 to 3 times per week (p=0.004, p=0.029, respectively). There was also a higher frequency of consumption of processed and ultraprocessed foods such as pizza (73.5%, p0.001), refrigerant (58.8%, p=0.036) and stuffed biscuit (58.8%, p=0.008) between 1 to 3 times a week in public school compared to private school. Consumption of packet juice (p=0.013) was reported not to be consumed by the majority of private school students compared to public school. Conclusion: The data found evidenced an expressive consumption of processed and ultraprocessed foods by the adolescents of both schools, highlighting foods with high sugar and sodium content.Keywords: Food Habits. Adolescents. Industrialized Foods.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Victor V. Kharitonov

Three first-year ice ridges have been examined with respect to geometry and morphology in landfast ice of Shokal'skogo Strait (Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago) in May 2018. Two of the studied ice ridges were located on the edge of the ridged field and were part of it, because their keels extended for a long distance deep into this field. Ice ridges characteristics are discussed in the paper. These studies were conducted using hot water thermal drilling with computer recording of the penetration rate. Boreholes were drilled along the cross-section of the ridge crest at 0.25 m intervals. Cross-sectional profiles of ice ridges are illustrated. The maximal sail height varied from 2.9 up to 3.2 m, the maximal keel depth varied from 8.5 up to 9.6 m. The average keel depth to sail height ratio varied from 2.8 to 3.3, and the thickness of the consolidated layer was 2.5-3.5 m. The porosity of the non-consolidated part of the keel was about 23-27%. The distributions of porosity versus depth for all ice ridges are presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (CSI) ◽  
pp. 12-18
Author(s):  
Ali Al-Rubaye ◽  
Dhurgham Abdulwahid ◽  
Aymen Albadran ◽  
Abbas Ejbary ◽  
Laith Alrubaiy

Background: There has been a rapid rise in cases of COVID-19 infection and its mortality rate since the first case reported in February 2020. This led to the rampant dissemination of misinformation and rumors about the disease among the public. Objectives: To investigate the scale of public misinformation about COVID-19 in Basrah, Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional study based on a 22-item questionnaire to assess public knowledge and understanding of information related to the COVID-19 infection. Results: A total of 483 individuals completed the questionnaire. The most frequent age group was 26–35 years (28.2%); there were 280 (58%) males and 203 (42%) females. Of the participants, 282 (58.4%) were with an education level below the Bachelor’s degree, 342 (70.8%) were married, and 311 (64%) were living in districts in Basra other than the central district. Overall, 50.8% (11.8/ 22 * 100%) of individuals had the correct information regarding COVID-19. There was a significant association between the level of COVID-19 related misinformation and participants’ educational levels and occupation (p <0.05). However, there was no significant difference found across sex, age group, marital state, and area of residence. Conclusions: Misinformation related to COVID-19 is widely spread and has to be addressed in order to control the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, misinformation, knowledge, Iraq


RSBO ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabete Rabaldo Bottan ◽  
Iara Fiorentin Comunello ◽  
Constanza Marín ◽  
Eduardo Mazzetti Subtil

Introduction and Objective: To evaluate the level of knowledge about oral cancer of students attending public school in one city of Santa Catarina (Brasil). Material and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study, using primary data collection. Students of last year of elementary school and first year of high school, enrolled in public schools in the city of Itajaí (SC), in 2012, were the target population. The non-probability sample was obtained by convenience. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire structured with 13 questions divided into three fields. The level of knowledge was made based on pre-established scores. Results: 1149 instruments were analyzed (80.8% of the target population). The average age of the group was 15.5 years and 54.5% were female. The majority (78%) never had received information about oral cancer. Only 27.9% had cognizance about self-examination of the oral cavity. With regard to knowledge, 87.5% classified as unsatisfactory. For most issues the cognitive field did not identify a significant correlation between knowledge and the variables gender and education. When asked if they would like to participate in educational and preventive activitiesabout oral cancer and other issues related to health, 72.6% expressed interest. Conclusion: The group did not have adequate knowledge on the subject of oral cancer. Facing this reality, and the positive attitude of respondents, the researchers designed and offered an educational program to the research subjects.


Curationis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katlego D.T. Mthimunye ◽  
Felicity M. Daniels

Background: The demand for highly qualified and skilled nurses is increasing in South Africa as well as around the world. Having a background in science can create a significant advantage for students wishing to enrol for an undergraduate nursing qualification because nursing as profession is grounded in scientific evidence.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of grade 12 mathematics and science on the academic performance of first year student nurses in science modules.Method: A quantitative research method using a cross-sectional predictive design was employed in this study. The participants included first year Bachelor of Nursing students enrolled at a university in the Western Cape, South Africa. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to analyse the data by using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences versions 24. Descriptive analysis of all variables was performed as well as the Spearman’s rank correlation test to describe the relationship among the study variables. Standard multiple linear regressions analysis was performed to determine the predictive validity of grade 12 mathematics and science on the academic performance of first year student nurses in science modules.Results: The results of this study showed that grade 12 physical science is not a significant predictor (p > 0.062) of performance in first year science modules. The multiple linear regression revealed that grade 12 mathematics and life science grades explained 37.1% to 38.1% (R2 = 0.381 and adj R2 = 0.371) of the variation in the first year science grade distributions.Conclusion: Based on the results of the study it is evident that performance in grade 12 mathematics (β = 2.997) and life science (β = 3.175) subjects is a significant predictor (p < 0.001) of the performance in first year science modules for student nurses at the university identified for this study.


Author(s):  
Sara Mucherino ◽  
Antonio Gimeno-Miguel ◽  
Jonas Carmona-Pirez ◽  
Francisca Gonzalez-Rubio ◽  
Ignatios Ioakeim-Skoufa ◽  
...  

The pressing problem of multimorbidity and polypharmacy is aggravated by the lack of specific care models for this population. We aimed to investigate the evolution of multimorbidity and polypharmacy patterns in a given population over a 4-year period (2011–2015). A cross-sectional, observational study among the EpiChron Cohort, including anonymized demographic, clinical and drug dispensation information of all users of the public health system ≥65 years in Aragon (Spain), was performed. An exploratory factor analysis, stratified by age and sex, using an open cohort was carried out based on the tetra-choric correlations among chronic diseases and dispensed drugs during 2011 and compared with 2015. Seven baseline patterns were identified during 2011 named as: mental health, respiratory, allergic, mechanical pain, cardiometabolic, osteometabolic, and allergic/derma. Of the epidemiological patterns identified in 2015, six were already present in 2011 but a new allergic/derma one appeared. Patterns identified in 2011 were more complex in terms of both disease and drugs. Results confirmed the existing association between age and clinical complexity. The systematic associations between diseases and drugs remain similar regarding their clinical nature over time, helping in early identification of potential interactions in multimorbid patients with a high risk of negative health outcomes due to polypharmacy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110000
Author(s):  
Michele Ford ◽  
Kristy Ward

The labour market effects in Southeast Asia of the COVID-19 pandemic have attracted considerable analysis from both scholars and practitioners. However, much less attention has been paid to the pandemic’s impact on legal protections for workers’ and unions’ rights, or to what might account for divergent outcomes in this respect in economies that share many characteristics, including a strong export orientation in labour-intensive industries and weak industrial relations institutions. Having described the public health measures taken to control the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, this article analyses governments’ employment-related responses and their impact on workers and unions in the first year of the pandemic. Based on this analysis, we conclude that the disruption caused to these countries’ economies, and societies, served to reproduce existing patterns of state–labour relations rather than overturning them.


Author(s):  
Zdenek Dvorak ◽  
Nikola Chovancikova ◽  
Jozef Bruk ◽  
Martin Hromada

The quality of the environment as well as public health is convincingly coupled with the functioning of a power subsector. The power subsector plays a pivotal role in the sense that it emerges as the key cross-sectional element for the society’s functioning (production, services, healthcare, education and others). A modern society consists of infrastructure systems that are primarily dependent on continuous electricity supplies. Each and every element of the electric power infrastructure is unique, and thus, its malfunction can disrupt the functioning of an important part of the electric power infrastructure. In conjunction with ensuring the functioning of electric power infrastructure, our attention must be drawn to the resilience issue. As far as the resilience of electric power infrastructure is concerned, it can resist weather-related events ensuring there are no disruptions in continuous electricity supplies. First, in the introductory part, the article presents the legal framework in the Slovak Republic. Second, it describes the current state of the electric power infrastructure of Slovakia. Third, it handles the state of the level of security risk assessment. Later on, in the literature review, besides turning to the issue of resilience assessment, the authors focused on the area of resilience of power engineering. Furthermore, the article scrutinizes resilience assessment in Slovakia, and it briefly examines approaches towards natural threats. In addition, the article demonstrates several approaches towards flood resilience. Having used different methods, the primary concern is to devise a framework for resilience assessment. Therefore, the included case study examines aspects of the proposed framework for resilience assessment. In conclusion, our aim was, in most respects, to outline an innovative methodological framework for increasing the resilience of electricity infrastructure.


2021 ◽  
pp. tobaccocontrol-2020-056237
Author(s):  
Yan Kwan Lau ◽  
Sumiyo Okawa ◽  
Rafael Meza ◽  
Kota Katanoda ◽  
Takahiro Tabuchi

ObjectivesJapan is currently the biggest market of heated tobacco products (HTPs) in the world. Little is known about nicotine dependence among HTP users. Thus, the objective was to assess the association of type of tobacco use and time-to-first-use, a marker of nicotine dependence.MethodsA cross-sectional analysis of the 2019 data from an internet cohort study was conducted. The analytical sample consisted of 2147 current (≥1 day use in the past 30 days) HTP and/or conventional cigarette users, aged 25+ years. Marginal structural binomial regression was used to estimate nicotine dependence prevalence ratios (PRs) for each category of tobacco use (exclusive daily cigarette, exclusive HTP (≥1 day), dual HTP+daily cigarette, dual HTP+non-daily cigarette), relative to exclusive, non-daily cigarette smoking.ResultsUsing a 5 min cut-off for time-to-first-use, the prevalence of nicotine dependence was higher among dual users of HTP and daily cigarettes (PR=1.38; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.82) and exclusive, daily cigarette users (PR=1.48; 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.91), relative to exclusive, non-daily cigarette users. However, nicotine dependence among exclusive HTP users, and dual HTP+non-daily cigarette users, did not differ from that of exclusive, non-daily cigarette users. When using 15 and 30 min cut-offs, all types of users, including exclusive HTP, had higher levels of nicotine dependence relative to exclusive, non-daily cigarette users.ConclusionsRegardless of HTP use, daily cigarette users had higher prevalence of nicotine dependence compared with non-daily cigarette users. Exclusive HTP users had similar (or potentially higher) dependence compared with exclusive, non-daily cigarette users. Longitudinal studies are needed to interrogate the public health implications of growing HTP use worldwide.


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