Generally Accepted Reliability Principle with Uncertainty Modelling and Through Probabilistic Risk Assessment : Functional Analysis of System Development Process

This report gives a functional analysis of the current system development process among European TSOs. System development deals with taking decisions that change transmission capacities either within a TSO’s own system or towards other TSOs systems. Inputs to this report have been gathered from workshops in the GARPUR project and a questionnaire to 10 TSOs that are either part of GARPUR consortium or a member of GARPUR reference group. Despite the limited number of respondents to the questionnaire, the responses are quite representative for European practice since the respondents represent different system sizes, characteristics and control zones within Europe

The place of Medical College - Varna in the training of dental technоlogy specialists

В областта на здравеопазването постигането на здравните цели до голяма степен зависи от предоставянето на ефективни, ефикасни, достъпни и с по-високо качество здравни услуги. За да се постигне високо качество на здравните услуги, е необходимо в процеса на обучение на здравните специалисти да се застъпят новостите в развитието на технологиите, използвани в здравеопазването. Целта на изследването е да се определи мястото на Медицински колеж - Варна в обучението на специалисти по зъботехника. Материал и методи: С пряка анонимна анкета са изследвани 91 студенти и 9 преподаватели по зъботехника. Резултатите са обработени статистически, като са използвани дескриптивен, вариационен и сравнителен анализ. Резултати и обсъждане: Приблизително 1/5 от преподавателите са на мнение, че обучението, което се предоставя в момента, не отговаря на условията на пазара на труда, a протетиката е областта, която се нуждае от по-широко изучаване. Резултатите от оценката за качеството на учебното съдържание показват, че студентите са удовлетворени от придобитите нови знания (4,35) и умения (4,33), основно в първи курс (4,72) и трети курс (4,40). Студентите, обучаващи се в МК-Варна, оценяват високо материалната база за провеждане на упражненията (средна оценка 4,21), a получената теоретична подготовка значително подпомага провеждането на практическото обучение на необходимото ниво (4,51).Заключение: Сферата на образованието търпи постоянни реформи, изключение не прави и обучението на студентите по зъботехника, като те трябва да се съобразяват с промените както в образователната сфера, така и в здравеопазването. Постоянно излизат все по-нови технологии и материали, при които изработването на конструкцията става изцяло под ръководството на компютър, именно тези тенденции налагат и промяна в обучението на зъботехниците за успешното им реализиране на пазара на труда.Introduction: In the field of health care, the achievement of health objectives is largely dependent on providing effective, efficient, accessible and high quality health services. In order to achieve high quality of health services, it is necessary to present the novelties in the development of the technologies used in healthcare in the course of training of healthcare professionals. Aim: The aim of the study is to determine the place of the Medical College - Varna in the training of dental technicians. Materials and Methods: Ninety-one students and 9 dental technicians were surveyed via a direct anonymous survey. The results were statistically processed using descriptive, variational and comparative analyses. Results and Discussion: Approximately 1/5 of the lecturers are of the opinion that the training currently provided does not meet labor market conditions, and prosthetics is the area that needs wider learning. The results of the assessment of the quality of the curriculum show that the students are satisfied with the acquired new knowledge (4.35) and skills (4.33), mainly in the first (4.72) and the third (4.40) year. The students trained at the Medical College - Varna appreciate the material base for the exercises (average score 4.21), and the theoretical training received significantly contributes to the practical training at the required level (4.51). Conclusion: The education sector is subject to constant reforms, except for the training of dental technicians, and they have to take into consideration the changes in education as well as in health care. More and more new technologies and materials are being constantly released, where the construction is entirely computerized. Precisely these trends require a change in the training of the dental technicians to guarantee them success when entering the labor market

Survey of the market needs of specialized dental technician

В съвременното здравеопазване непрекъснато се създават нови методи и технологии на лечение на различни заболявания, същото се отнася и за зъботехниката. Като в тази област с развитието на новите технологии изработката на различните конструкции се осъществява по нови методи и техники, които спестяват както време на зъботехника, така и се гарантира по- голяма точност при изработката на самата конструкция. Целта на настоящия доклад е да се изследват нуждите от профилирани зъботехници. Материал и методи: Изследвани са 133 управители на зъботехнически лаборатории и 26 преподаватели по зъботехника чрез пряка анонимна анкета. Резултатите са обработени статистически, като са използвани вариационен и сравнителен анализ. Резултати и обсъждане: Анализът на резултатите показва, че към настоящия момент най-голям недостиг на зъботехници има в областта на ортодонтията (62.40%), което показва необходимостта от курсове за повишаване на квалификацията и следдипломното обучение на тези специалисти. Този факт се отчита от 83.50% от ръководителите, които посочват, че създаването на курсове за повишаване на ква-лификацията ще бъде добър подход за професионализацията на практикуващите зъботехници. Изводи: Повишаването на квалификацията е важен аспект от професионализацията на зъботехниците. Това е непрекъснат процес, който е свързан с поддържането на конкурентоспособността на специалиста на пазара за дентални услуги.Introduction: In modern healthcare, new methods and technologies for the treatment of various diseases are constantly being created and the same applies to dentistry. In this field, with the development of the new technologies, the manufacture of the different constructions is done by newer methods and techniques, which save both the time of the dental technician and provide greater accuracy in the maufacture of the construction. Aim: The purpose of this report is to examine the needs of dental technicians, specialists in certain fieds. Materials and Methods: One hundred thirty-three dental laboratory managers and 26 dental technicians were surveyed through a direct anonymous survey. The results were statistically processed using variational and comparative analyses. Results and Discussion: The analysis of the results shows that at present the greatest shortage of dental technicians is in the field of orthodontics (62.40%), which determines the need for training courses and postgraduate training of these specialists. This fact is indicated by 83.50% of the managers, who point out that the creation of training courses will be a good approach to the professionalization of dental technicians. Conclusion: Increasing qualifications is an important aspect of the professionalization of dental technicians. This is a continuous process that is related to maintaining the competitiveness of the specialist in the dental services market

The need for change in the curriculum in relation to the demands and requirements of the modern dental technоlogy

С въвеждането на новите технологии при изработката на конструкциите в процеса на обучение на студентите по зъботехника ще се постигне по-високо качество на обучението и оттам по-добра подготовка на новозавършилите зъботехници, което ще им осигури по-висока конкурентоспособност на пазара на труда. Целта на изследването е да се изследва необходимостта за промяна на учебните програми на Медицински колеж - Варна в зависимост от нуждите и изискванията на съвременната зъботехника. Материал и методи: С пряка анонимна анкета са изследвани 91 студенти и 9 преподаватели по зъботехника. Резултатите са обработени статистически, като са използвани дескриптивен, вариационен и сравнителен анализ. Резултати и обсъждане: Над 1/3 от анкетираните студенти са на мнение, че обучението по специалността, което се предоставя към настоящия момент в МК, не отговаря на условията на пазара на труда. Според резултатите от проучването за факторите, които биха допринесли за подобряване на обучението по зъботехника, прави впечатление, че основната препоръка към МК-Варна е увеличаването броя на часовете за практически упражнения, като новите технологии и материали да са по-широко изучавани. Значителната част от преподавателите са на мнение, че има необходимост от промяна на учебния план, като основните насоки са въвеждането на новите технологии в зъботехниката и увеличаването на практическите упражнения. Заключение: Внедряването на новите технологии и материали в обучението на студентите по зъботехника е от съществено значение за тяхната професионализация и реализацията им на пазара на дентални услуги. Днес този пазар се характеризира като високо конкурентен, което изисква от зъботехническите лаборатории да използват нови начини на работа, a внедряването на новите технологии и материали им помага за развитието на дейността и намаляването на производствените разходи.Introduction: With the introduction of new technologies in the manufacture of constructions during the training process in dental technology, students will achieve a higher quality of training and hence there will be better prepared dental technicians. All this will provide them with higher competitiveness on the labor market. Aim: The aim of the study is to research the necessity of changing the curricula of Medical College - Varna, depending on the needs and requirements of modern dental technicians. Materials and Methods: Ninety-one students and 9 dental technicians were surveyed via a direct anonymous survey. The results were statistically processed using descriptive, variational and comparative analyses. Results and Discussion: Over 1/3 of the students surveyed are of the opinion that the training in the program that is currently provided at the Medical College-Varna does not meet the conditions of the labor market. The results of the study on the factors that would contribute to the improvement of dental training indicate that the main recommendation to the Medical College-Varna is to increase the number of hours for practical exercises in order to study new technologies and materials more extensively. A significant part of the teachers are of the opinion that there is a need to change the curriculum, with the introduction of new technologies in dental technology and the increase of practical exercises

The COVID-19 Distance Learning: Insight from Ukrainian students

Although distance learning has become an essential part of everyday life of most students during quarantine, there is little evidence regarding its effectiveness among Ukrainian students. The objective of the research is to estimate the effectiveness of current distance learning process in Ukrainian higher educational institutions; outline types of distance education provided; highlight the negative and positive aspects of introducing distance learning; describe the perspectives and approaches to solving the problems of distance education in universities. The study sought to collect data on students' attitudes and needs for distance learning during quarantine by means of the on-line survey – Covid-19 Distance Learning Questionnaire, which involved 540 respondents. Prerequisites for the development of distance education in Ukraine are considered. The findings reveal the most used distance learning tools, duration of learning, types of leisure activities, readiness of participants of educational process for distance learning, factors that affect distance learning (skills, internet speed, emotions) etc. The results obtained in the research can be provided to the governmental agencies, educational institutions and other stakeholders to further improve the process of distance learning

The Food Aid Scenario in Ethiopia: pro-poor or pro-politics?

Ethiopia is one of the leading aid recipient countries in the world and Africa with 5-6 millions peoples approximately requiring urgent food assistance on a non-stop basis in rural areas alone. The country receives between 20-30 % of the food aid allotted to sub-Saharan Africa. Attributed to ill-favored aid architecture including the local political economy and targeting mechanisms, according evidences drawn from empirical research works, currently in the country, food aid is bringing more harm than good with a serious of debilitating repercussions on local development especially, on the socio-economic issues. This paper is based on critical review empirical research works of the scenarios of the sate of  food aid and food aid dependence in selected regional states of Ethiopia (Amhara, Tigray, Somali, Afar and South Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional States) with the main objective of assessing the impact of food aid dependence on social and economic issues across the various regions of the country and to see whether food aid provisions are married to patronage of politically motivated objectives to maintain the political interest of the government and donors or to really support the needy. The result of this review show that food aid has substantial impacts on local market and production, local consumption pattern, and creating dependency syndrome and moral hazards mainly due to poor management, mode of delivery, political-favoritism and targeting mechanisms. This paper recommends that for food aid to be effective in helping the needy and assist local development efforts there has to be efficient targeting mechanism that hardly allows targeting errors of inclusion and exclusion and nepotism. Food aid programs should also be re-engineered in a manner that helps recipients’ in long-term asset creation and welfare of the people. Keywords: Food aid, Food aid architecture, Aid dependence, Labor disincentive, political favoritism, Ethiopi

Governance and the Millennium Development Goals: Exploring Education and Gender-Related Goals in Ethiopia

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) consists of various aspects of human developments that have been pledged by 189 countries in the United Nations General Assembly in 1990. The MDGs has eight goals, eighteen targets and forty eight indicators to be achieved by 2015. Indeed, deadline is approaching. According to different reports, some countries have shown progress, but many countries in Sub Saharan Africa are lagging behind.  Scholars are now critically looking into the possible ‘missing pieces’ in those countries that are behind timetable in achieving the goals. In the same vein, the objective of this paper is to explore whether governance is one of missing pieces in countries lagging behind the schedule. To do so, we have selected Ethiopia as a case out of Sub Saharan countries due to information access to Ethiopia and Ethiopia is highly committed country to achieve MDGs, although lagging behind. We have specifically focused on MDG Goal 2 and 3 by interviewing different actors and reviewing literatures. The results indicate that Ethiopia has shown promising results in achieving MDG goal 2 and 3. However, in terms of governance, Ethiopian policy actors should rethink on multi-sectoral approaches in achieving these two goals, and tension between government and NGOs relation due to enactment of Charities and Societies Proclamation No. 621/2009. Further, quality of education is should be incorporated in MDG indicator post 2015 worldwide. Keywords:  Millennium Development, MDG Goal 2 and 3, Education, Gender goal, Governance, Ethiopi

Degree of awareness of dentists and dental technicians about the novelties in the dental practice

Разнообразието от технологии и оборудване е голямо, което налага потребителите на дентални услуги да са информирани за новостите, което е в тяхна полза. Поради бързо навлизащите технологии годишно се организират международни изложения по дентална медицина, където се обменя информация и опит от цял свят. Това дава възможност на лекари, мениджъри и специалисти от клиники и зъботехнически лаборатории да се запознаят с навлизащите технологии в света на денталната медицина. Докладът представлява анализ на информираността на дентални лекари и зъботехници за новостите в зъботехническата практика. Изследването е проведено в Североизточна България сред 668 респонденти. Данните показват висока степен на информираност сред респондентите, което корелира с високото качество на денталните услуги.There is a great diversity of technologies and equipment which requires that the consumers of dental services be aware about the novelties which are beneficial for them. Annually, international exhibitions of dental medicine are arranged due to the rapidly deploying technologies and there information and experience from all over the world is exchanged. Thus, doctors, managers and specialists from clinics and dental laboratories have the opportunity to be acquainted with the developed technologies in the world of dental medicine. This report is an analysis of the awareness of dentists and dental technicians about the novelties in the dental practice. The survey has been conducted in Northeastern Bulgaria among 668 respondents. The data showed high degree of awareness among the respondents which correlates with the high quality of dental services