The role of information systems in human resource management

Persistency of the organization, competitive advantage and realization of extra profit, in contemporary environment, are directly connected with balance of the resources available to the firm. One of the key issues of successful business is human resource management and that process is under great influence of modern information technology. Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) are systems used to collect, record, store, analyze and retrieve data concerning an organization’s human resources, but it is not merely reduction of administrative procedures. The importance of HRIS system is multifaceted, ranging from operational assistance in collecting, storing and preparing data for reports, simplifying and accelerating the processes and controlling the available data, reducing labour costs for HR departments, and providing timely and diverse information to the management of the company, based on which it is possible to make quality strategic decisions related to human capital. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of HRIS and to give a comprehensive insight of the subject. Special focus in the paper will be on companies in Serbia, which have started to apply this concept, but in most situations not widely, but just partially. They must be aware that positive results can be expected only if this subject is approached in the right wayHuman resource management, information systems, HRIS, ERP

Guide for National Planning for Setting Up New Data Services

This guide aims to assist interested actors or country teams in developing plans for establishing national data services in the social sciences. The guide helps country teams to include in their plans a mission statement, a governance structure, a description of areas of competence and infrastructure that need to be strengthened, as well as a description of future needs and necessary resources for setting up and maintaining viable data services

Deliverable 3.4: National Development Plans for Data Services in Non-CESSDA Member Countries in the ERA

This deliverable contains the second output of task 3.3 – national development plans for establishing data services in the social sciences in non-CESSDA member countries in Europe. The goal of task 3.3 of CESSDA SaW was to draw up individual national development plans for aspiring CESSDA Service Providers. In total, NDPs have been developed in 13 countries. Nine NDPs are included in this deliverable, while four are still pending approval from national authorities and/or local potential host institutions

Uporaba lokalnih sojeva bakterije Lactococcus lactis kao starter kultura u proizvodnji tradicionalnih crnogorskih sireva

The aim of this study is to characterise and examine the biochemical properties of 40 Lactococcus lactis strains isolated from indigenous Montenegrin dairy products in order to explore their potential to be used as starter cultures for producing typical Montenegrin cheese, such as ‘bijeli sir’, ‘masni sir’ and ‘njeguški sir’. Their safety regarding the production of biogenic amines, the presence of antimicrobial resistance and the antibacterial activity against relevant pathogens and spoilage microorganisms has also been tested. Based on the characterisation, all strains belong to L. lactis ssp. lactis. Out of these 40 strains, 23 displayed rapid acidification ability and proteolysis. However, none of the strains exhibited the ability of lipid degradation. Most of the strains were not associated with any health risk investigated. Summing up, a large percentage (27.5 %) of the tested strains showed good properties. These strains should be further examined for their possible application as specific starter cultures in the production of indigenous cheese in MontenegroSvrha je ovoga rada bila okarakterizirati i ispitati biokemijska svojstva 40 sojeva bakterije Lactococcus lactis, izoliranih iz autohtonih crnogorskih mliječnih proizvoda, te istražiti mogućnost njihove uporabe kao starter kultura u proizvodnji tipičnih crnogorskih sireva, kao što su bijeli sir, masni sir i njeguški sir. Također je ispitana sigurnost primjene tih sojeva, tj. sposobnost proizvodnje biogenih amina, antimikrobna rezistencija i sposobnost suzbijanja rasta važnih patogenih mikroorganizama i uzročnika kvarenja hrane. Karakterizacijom je utvrđeno da svih 40 sojeva pripadaju podvrsti L. lactis ssp. lactis. Njih 23 imala su sposobnost brzog zakiseljavanja i proteolize. Međutim, niti jedan soj nije pokazao sposobnost razgradnje lipida. Većina sojeva nije predstavljala nikakav rizik za zdravlje. Velik postotak sojeva (27,5 %) pokazao je dobra proizvodna svojstva, pa treba dodatno ispitati mogućnost njihove uporabe kao specifičnih starter kultura u proizvodnji autohtonih crnogorskih sireva

Monitoring of agricultural policy developments in the Western Balkan countries

This reports provides the analysis of the monitoring of agricultural policy in the Western Balkans (WB) countries. This reports attempts to show (i) the main development patterns in production and trade in WB; (ii) an overview of the new policy framework (new programming documents from the period 2013-2015) and its implementation; (iii) the scope and structure of budgetary transfers to agriculture in regional comparison and also in terms of approximation with the CAP; and (iv) the main characteristics of direct producer support in the region. The analyses cover primarily the period 2010-2015.JRC.D.4 - Economics of Agricultur

ATTITUDE TOWARDS ONESELF AND OTHERS IN NON-CLINICAL POPULATION, DEPRESSED AND PARANOID EXAMINEES

Background: The theoretical concept of existential/life positions describes person’s basic beliefs about oneself and others. Most of authors on TA postulated that every person has one of four possible basic life positions: I’m OK, you’re OK; I’m not OK, you’re OK; I’m OK, you’re not OK and I’m not OK, you’re not OK. The aim of this study was the authentication of Existential positions as theoretical concepts in Transaction Analysis, and it’s potential to discriminate clinical from non-clinical examinees, and paranoid from depressive examinees within the clinical population. Subjects and methods: The research conducted was co-relational. The sample belongs to the convenience sample type, and comprised 200 examinees, 100 from the non-clinical and 100 from the clinical population of adults. Results: The results of the research confirm a statistically significant difference between the non-clinical and clinical part of the sample in the examined theoretical concept. The “I am not OK” existential position is more expressed in the clinical part of the sample. The differences between the examinees with depressive and paranoid disorders indicate that the examinees with the depressive disorder are more likely to express the “I am not OK, you are OK” and “I am not OK, you are not OK” Existential position. Conclusion: In general, we can infer that the assumptions which the research was aimed at testing received partial validation. Examinees from the clinical part of the sample have a statistically significantly higher score at the position “I am not OK”. Examinees with depressive characteristics have a more pronounced “I am not OK, you are not OK” position

Evaluation of different formulas for LDL-C calculation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Friedewald's formula for the estimation of LDL-C concentration is the most often used formula in clinical practice. A recent formula by Anandaraja and colleagues for LDL-C estimation still needs to be evaluated before it is extensively applied in diagnosis. In the present study we validated existing formulas and derived a more accurate formula to determine LDL-C in a Serbian population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Our study included 2053 patients with TG ≤ 4.52 mmol/L. In an initial group of 1010 patients, Friedewald's and Anandaraja's formulas were compared to a direct homogenous method for LDL-C determination. The obtained results allowed us to modify Friedewald's formula and apply it in a second group of patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean LDL-C concentrations were 3.9 ± 1.09 mmol/L, 3.63 ± 1.06 mmol/L and 3.72 ± 1.04 mmol/L measured by a direct homogenous assay (D-LDL-C), calculated by Friedewald's formula (F-LDL-C) and calculated by Anandaraja's formula (A-LDL-C), respectively in the 1010 patients. The Student's paired t-test showed that D-LDL-C values were significantly higher than F-LDL-C and A-LDL-C values (p < 0.001). The Passing-Bablok regression analysis indicated good correlation between calculated and measured LDL-Cs (r > 0.89). Using lipoprotein values from the initial group we modified Friedewald's formula by replacing the term 2.2 with 3. The new modified formula for LDL-C estimation (S-LDL-C) showed no statistically significant difference compared to D-LDL-C. The absolute bias between these two methods was -0.06 ± 0.37 mmol/L with a high correlation coefficient (r = 0.96).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our modified formula for LDL-C estimation appears to be more accurate than both Friedewald's and Anandaraja's formulas when applied to a Serbian population.</p

Racial differences in systemic sclerosis disease presentation: a European Scleroderma Trials and Research group study

Objectives. Racial factors play a significant role in SSc. We evaluated differences in SSc presentations between white patients (WP), Asian patients (AP) and black patients (BP) and analysed the effects of geographical locations.Methods. SSc characteristics of patients from the EUSTAR cohort were cross-sectionally compared across racial groups using survival and multiple logistic regression analyses.Results. The study included 9162 WP, 341 AP and 181 BP. AP developed the first non-RP feature faster than WP but slower than BP. AP were less frequently anti-centromere (ACA; odds ratio (OR) = 0.4, P &lt; 0.001) and more frequently anti-topoisomerase-I autoantibodies (ATA) positive (OR = 1.2, P = 0.068), while BP were less likely to be ACA and ATA positive than were WP [OR(ACA) = 0.3, P &lt; 0.001; OR(ATA) = 0.5, P = 0.020]. AP had less often (OR = 0.7, P = 0.06) and BP more often (OR = 2.7, P &lt; 0.001) diffuse skin involvement than had WP.AP and BP were more likely to have pulmonary hypertension [OR(AP) = 2.6, P &lt; 0.001; OR(BP) = 2.7, P = 0.03 vs WP] and a reduced forced vital capacity [OR(AP) = 2.5, P &lt; 0.001; OR(BP) = 2.4, P &lt; 0.004] than were WP. AP more often had an impaired diffusing capacity of the lung than had BP and WP [OR(AP vs BP) = 1.9, P = 0.038; OR(AP vs WP) = 2.4, P &lt; 0.001]. After RP onset, AP and BP had a higher hazard to die than had WP [hazard ratio (HR) (AP) = 1.6, P = 0.011; HR(BP) = 2.1, P &lt; 0.001].Conclusion. Compared with WP, and mostly independent of geographical location, AP have a faster and earlier disease onset with high prevalences of ATA, pulmonary hypertension and forced vital capacity impairment and higher mortality. BP had the fastest disease onset, a high prevalence of diffuse skin involvement and nominally the highest mortality

Phenotypes Determined by Cluster Analysis and Their Survival in the Prospective European Scleroderma Trials and Research Cohort of Patients With Systemic Sclerosis

Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a heterogeneous connective tissue disease that is typically subdivided into limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) and diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) depending on the extent of skin involvement. This subclassification may not capture the entire variability of clinical phenotypes. The European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database includes data on a prospective cohort of SSc patients from 122 European referral centers. This study was undertaken to perform a cluster analysis of EUSTAR data to distinguish and characterize homogeneous phenotypes without any a priori assumptions, and to examine survival among the clusters obtained. Methods: A total of 11,318 patients were registered in the EUSTAR database, and 6,927 were included in the study. Twenty‐four clinical and serologic variables were used for clustering. Results: Clustering analyses provided a first delineation of 2 clusters showing moderate stability. In an exploratory attempt, we further characterized 6 homogeneous groups that differed with regard to their clinical features, autoantibody profile, and mortality. Some groups resembled usual dcSSc or lcSSc prototypes, but others exhibited unique features, such as a majority of lcSSc patients with a high rate of visceral damage and antitopoisomerase antibodies. Prognosis varied among groups and the presence of organ damage markedly impacted survival regardless of cutaneous involvement. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that restricting subsets of SSc patients to only those based on cutaneous involvement may not capture the complete heterogeneity of the disease. Organ damage and antibody profile should be taken into consideration when individuating homogeneous groups of patients with a distinct prognosis