Knowledge, Attitudes, Risk Perceptions, and Practices of Spanish Adolescents Toward the COVID-19 Pandemic: Validation and Results of the Spanish Version of the Questionnaire

Background: Adolescence is a period with physical, psychological, biological, intellectual, and social changes in which there is usually little perception of risk. COVID-19 has generated constant situations of change and uncertainty worldwide. During the pandemic, the acquisition of preventive behaviors has been relevant. Various studies carried out with adults associate risk perception and the implementation of preventive behaviors with knowledge about the COVID-19 and with age, but there are not many studies with adolescents. Therefore, the objective is to validate, in Spanish, the questionnaire of the knowledge, attitudes, risk perceptions, and practices of adolescents toward the pandemic, and analyze it according to sociodemographic characteristics.Method: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, which included adolescents between the ages of 12–18 (n = 354). First, a translation and a back-translation of the questionnaire were performed. The questionnaire was presented in several high schools chosen by convenience sampling and following a non-probabilistic snowball sampling. Reliability and validity analyses were then carried out and the relationships between the different sociodemographic variables (gender, place of residence, level of education, if the person was in a sentimental relationship, and financial aid) were analyzed.Results: The reliability of the questionnaire is acceptable (ordinal alpha = 77%). Knowledge was higher in women, and in those with a higher level of education; and were lower in those who lived in smaller towns, as well as in those who had a member of their family receiving financial aid. In terms of attitudes and risk perceptions, younger adolescents had higher scores, and those who had a member of their family receiving financial aid, lower.Conclusion: The questionnaire is a reliable tool in the Spanish adolescent population. Knowledge was influenced by gender, place of residence, level of education, and financial aid. Attitudes and risk perceptions were influenced by age and financial aid. For practices, no predictors were found. In general, adolescents scored lower on knowledge about COVID-19, but they scored higher on COVID-19 safety practices.

An Isolated and Behind-the-Scenes Work Called Conservation

Conservation is a type of work which requires specific skills, a lengthy experience, particular infrastructures, and arguably extensive time and money. In fact, preserving collections by managing all the aspects required is an important and mandatory task. However, as a developing country in tropical climate, Indonesia is still in a phase where financial aid, skillful experts, and moral support for preserving the cultural heritage are much less than needed. As a result of complex organizational dynamics, building a formal partnership for frequent collaborative conservation work between archives, libraries, and museums nevertheless is far from simple. On the other hand, engaging the community to participate in the practice is particularly challenging due to the nature of conservation work as an isolated activity within an exclusive ecosystem. This chapter aims to discuss whether developing community engagement and collaboration between LAM can serve as an alternative support to constructively improve current conditions and cope with the aforementioned issues.

TASKS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS IN THE FIELD OF FIRE IN LEGAL AND PRACTICAL TERMS, BASED ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE CITY OF BIELSKO-BIAŁA AND BIELSKI COUNTY – SELECTED ISSUES

The article presents the tasks imposed on the city of Bielsko-Biała in the field of fire protection, consisting of bearing the costs of equipment and maintenance of fire protection units in the field of Voluntary Fire Brigades by the commune. The amounts of financial resources spent on the above-mentioned purposes were given on the basis of the report on the condition of the city of Bielsko-Biała for 2018 and 2019. The poviat’s tasks in the field of fire protection were also discussed, and based on the report on the state of the Bielski poviat for 2018 and 2019, data on financial aid granted by the Bielski poviat for poviat structures of the State Fire Service and Volunteer Fire Brigades were provided. Some of the issues were devoted to indicating the legal basis for the operation and tasks performed by fire protection units performing tasks in the field of fire protection in the city of Bielsko-Biała and the Bielski poviat, i.e. the Municipal Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Bielsko-Biała and units of the Volunteer Fire Brigades. As regards the Municipal Headquarters of the State Fire Service, its organizational structure has been presented, with particular attention being paid to the rescue and firefighting units located in the city of Bielsko-Biała and the station located in Czechowice-Dziedzice. Tasks performed by the Municipal Headquarters of the State Fire Service in 2019 and for the period January - November 2020 for the city of Bielsko-Biała and the Bielski County were presented on the basis of statistical data of the Municipal Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Bielsko-Biała available on the website of the Headquarters. The tasks of the Volunteer Fire Brigades units, the rules of qualifying units of the Volunteer Fire Brigades to the National Rescue and Firefighting System and the rules of their departure to events in the city of Bielsko-Biała and the Bielski County were discussed. Tasks carried out by units of the Volunteer Fire Brigades in 2019 for the city of Bielsko-Biała and the Bielski County were presented on the basis of statistical data from the Municipal Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Bielsko-Biała available on the website of the Headquarters

Nonadherence to follow-up recommendations is common for dogs and cats undergoing orthopedic surgery

OBJECTIVE To evaluate owner adherence to recommendations for follow-up examination of dogs and cats following orthopedic procedures and identify factors associated with adherence versus nonadherence. SAMPLE Medical records of 485 dogs and cats that underwent orthopedic surgery. PROCEDURES Cases were categorized as urgent or elective. Information obtained from the medical records consisted of species, age, body weight, proximity to the hospital, procedure cost, recommendations for coaptation, use of financial aid, and number of owners. Cases were considered adherent to follow-up recommendations if, at the latest visit or communication, no further visits were recommended. Cases were considered nonadherent if owners did not return for recommended follow-up visits. RESULTS Overall adherence to follow-up recommendations was 65.8% (319/485). Elective cases were 1.6 times as likely to be adherent to follow-up recommendations as were urgent cases, dog cases were 2.4 times as likely to be adherent as were cat cases, and cases with multiple owners listed were 2.1 times as likely to be adherent as were cases with 1 owner listed. Distance from the hospital had a statistically significant association with adherence, but the effect was not clinically important. Age, weight, coaptation, procedure cost, and use of financial aid were not significantly associated with adherence. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The percentage of dogs and cats lost to follow-up following orthopedic surgery at an academic veterinary teaching hospital was substantial (166/485 [34.2%]). Efforts to improve follow-up adherence are especially indicated for animals undergoing urgent procedures, animals with single owners, and cats.

Investigating the role of the International Monetary Fund in the process of resolving financial crises: case study of Greece

The economic crisis in the United States and its spread to continental Europe caused a financial crisis in European stock markets, which in turn reduced production in Europe, resulting in rising unemployment, that eventually led to protests against the current economic situation. These political unrests have prompted international and regional governments and financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Central Bank to find a way to end this severe financial crisis. Greece, as one of the EU member states that has been affected by this global crisis, has made efforts to improve its economic situation. The main question of this study is to what extent the International Monetary Fund was able to help resolve the financial crisis in Greece? The hypothesis is that due to the conditionality of financial aid from the International Monetary Fund to Greece in crisis and Greeces lack of attention to the full implementation of austerity programs, such financial aid has not been able to save the Greece economy from financial crisis. One of the aims of this study is to what extent developing countries can rely on IMF recommendations to overcome the financial crisis. The aim of the research is to find out why International Monetary Fund could not adopt proper monetary and financial policy to settle the financial crisis in Greece. Moreover, the reasons behind failed attempts of Greeces policymakers to implement IMFs austerity measures in their country are sought.

Profitability Determinants of Unlisted Renewable Energy Companies in Germany—A Longitudinal Analysis of Financial Accounts

The fight against a climate crisis has urged nations and the global community to cut emissions and to define ambitious environmental goals. This has highlighted the importance of the renewable energy (RE) industry. Germany has been one of the most active countries in RE adoption. In this vein, the purpose of this research is to study and identify key profitability determinants of unlisted German electricity-producing RE-companies, many of which have been supported by the German Feed-in Tariff (FIT). A multi-year analysis based on panel data from 783 companies for the years 2010–2018 is used. The results show that both company- and industry-specific profitability determinants are statistically significant, but the company-specific determinants seem to be more important. The results shed new light on what drives the profitability of private German RE companies during the period of financial aid from the government and are of use to managers, regulators and investors alike, e.g., when the effects of different regulatory climates and industry environments, as well as states of business life cycle are considered. Furthermore, the implications of this study have wider environmental and economic importance as the performance of the RE companies is critical in achieving the emission targets of the energy industry and ensuring a more sustainable energy production for the future.