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This study aims to describe the preparation of antimicrobial material usable in 3D printing of medical devices. Despite the wealth of technological progress at the time of the crisis caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus: Virus that causes current Pandemic situation (COVID-19), the global population had long been exposed beforehand to an acute absence of essential medical devices. As a response, a new type of composite materials intended for rapid prototyping, based on layered silicate saponite (Sap), antimicrobial dye phloxine B (PhB) and thermoplastics, has been recently developed.

Sap was modified with a cationic surfactant and subsequently functionalized with PhB. The hybrid material in powder form was then grounded with polyethylene terephthalate-glycol (PETG) or polylactic acid (PLA) in a precisely defined weight ratio and extruded into printing filaments. The stability and level of cytotoxicity of these materials in various physiological environments simulating the human body have been studied. The applicability of these materials in bacteria and a yeast-infected environment was evaluated.

Ideal content of the hybrid material, with respect to thermoplastic, was 15 weight %. Optimal printing temperature and speed, with respect to maintaining antimicrobial activity of the prepared materials, were T = 215°C at 50 mm/s for PETG/SapPhB and T = 230°C at 40 mm/s for PLA/SapPhB. 3 D-printed air filters made of these materials could keep inner air flow at 63.5% and 76.8% of the original value for the PLA/SapPhB and PETG/SapPhB, respectively, whereas the same components made without PhB had a 100% reduction of airflow.

The designed materials can be used for rapid prototyping of medical devices.

The new materials have been immediately used in the construction of an emergency lung ventilator, Q-vent, which has been used in different countries during the COVID-19 crisis.

Contends that information systems planning, development, maintenance and utilization in the area of libraries involve such complicated procedures and techniques that good results cannot be expected without their knowledgeable management. The situation in the libraries and information centres in Slovakia is similar to that in other countries, especially after the socio‐political changes in 1989 when a shift towards a more market‐oriented approach appeared. The education of information systems managers is carried out in the framework of a five‐year Master′s programme in library and information science at the department of library and information science in Bratislava. The principal methodological course for the area of information systems management is the “Theory of library and information systems”. Outlines the content of the course and reflects the principal problem areas. Mentions other courses and programme orientations connected with library management.

The purpose of this paper is to inform on results of the study based on the dissertation project – the study of newcoming university students and their information literacy experience. It describes the three categories of information literacy experience as perceived by these students.

The document is based on a qualitative phenomenographic study of 40 first-year undergraduate students of teacher education programs from five faculties of Comenius University in Bratislava. Data were collected from each participant in two stages by three methods: written statements, drawings and interviews.

The phenomenographic analysis results in three categories of information literacy: (1) the conception of digital technologies, (2) the conception of knowledge and (3) the conception of truth. The outcome space presented by two alternative models points to a strong interrelation of all three categories. The resulting conceptions point to the diversity of the concept of information literacy in relation to other types of literacies, especially digital, reading and media literacy, as well as to intersections with other scientific disciplines such as psychology, cognitive science or philosophy.

The most important limits of this qualitative research are the low numbers of participants and the high degree of subjectivity in data evaluation. For this reason, a verification study was carried out one-year later.

Although phenomenographic studies of information literacy in the educational context are quite common, the third category of this study brings a new contribution to the information literacy theory – the dimension of truth or truthfulness of information.

The purpose of the study was to ascertain how preschool children consume media, which types of media content they are sensitive to and how children affect the shopping behavior of their parents. In other words, the study aimed at revealing whether distinctions occur among the selection of the media, among preferences of media products and forms, among concepts within advertising, among the attractiveness of media contents, among the types of influence by advertising products and among the means by which boys and girls have impact on their parents.

The paper is focused on the analyses of the perception of advertising messages and media consumption of children aged from two to seven years (N = 55) and their parents (N = 55) in the Czech Republic. The semi-structured interviews with the parents and children were used as the main research method. The children’s drawings focused on popular advertising were used as a supplementary method. The final findings were subjected to qualitative analyses – to thematic content analyses.

The analyzed interviews have revealed four key factors which frame and express the Czech preschool children’s reception and consumption of the media and their consumer behavior: media, media format and media content choice of preschool children; ritualization of the media consumption processes in preschool children; identification of advertising appeals within the media content in preschool children; and influence of media (and a social and cultural environment) on shopping behavior of preschool children. The findings are summarized in the table and visualized in thematic map.

The sample size is small; therefore, it is not possible to generalize the results to all preschool children.

The study provides an explanation of the perception of media messages by preschool children from a broader perspective, from the children and their parents’ point of view.

Aims to study human information behaviour as part of the research project on the interaction of man and the information environment (project VEGA 1/9236/02) and to analyse library users' information behaviour on both sides of the information coin – information usage and information production/publishing.

The methodology was composed of the following steps: pilot studies of students' information‐seeking behaviour; a large‐scale questionnaire survey of users of academic and research libraries; data analyses and interpretations; verification of hypotheses; multiple data sorting; and modelling of user groups.

Library users appreciate easy access and well‐organised forms of information, with an emphasis on electronic sources. In their capacity as authors of professional papers, only few subjects considered print and electronic publishing to be equal. Two user types have been derived from the data analysis. Type S manifests pragmatic ways of information seeking and appreciates the low cost and speed of electronic publishing. Type A is characterised by analytic, in‐depth information processing, stressing the prestige and review process of print publishing.

Quantitative methods can form a starting‐point for typologies of human information behaviour. Additional qualitative methods, especially interviews with students, focus groups and observations, are planned for future research into modelling of users' information behaviour.

Based on the analysis, two information‐seeking styles have been identified: strategic and analytic. Differences between the search styles suggest that systems designers, knowledge managers and libraries should be open to the creative use and representation of electronic information, taking into account different information behaviours.

The purpose of this paper is to define the way of influence of national culture on the performance of entrepreneurship. As a possible channel of this influence, the perceptions of public policy by entrepreneurs have been analysed.

The data were collected from a survey conducted in 2014-2015, which consist of 207 surveyed entrepreneurs from Slovakia and 197 from Ukraine. The author analyses the perception of government policy in the field of entrepreneurship, institutional and personal trust and personal characteristics of respondents.

The main finding is that the coherence of formal and informal institutions in the representations of entrepreneurs affects the performance of their business. Perceptions of government actions seems to be endogenous to unobservable national culture. Entrepreneurs’ trust was found to be important in countries with different institutional environment.

Based on these findings, it would be possible to improve the stimulation of government policies for business by taking into account the most important types of policies for business performance in the definite institutional environment.

This is the first study in examining the exact mechanisms of the national culture’s influence on business development through entrepreneurs’ perceptions.

Health is an essential issue in the motivation to eat organic food. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship if people who have a positive view of a healthy lifestyle (want to live healthy) have an influence on the tendency to buy organic food.

The analysis of secondary data dealing with the issue was supplemented by primary data. In order to meet the main aim, a preliminary objective was set which was to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors on the recommended lifestyle. Specifically, the largest statistically significant difference in influence on healthy lifestyle was gender, followed by education and age. The survey was conducted in the period of January–May 2019 on a sample of 1,373 respondents from Slovakia.

The data was evaluated by means of selected specific statistical methods (Kruskal–Wallis test, Man-Whitney test and Decision tree methodology). The results of the research verified that the lifestyle of Slovak consumers has an influence on the consumption of organic products and that people who practise healthy eating buy organic food more often. Our research has shown that lifestyle is increasingly influencing consumer purchasing behaviour.

The results showed that today's healthy lifestyle increases the demand for healthy food among potential consumers. Furthermore, the presented results of our research in Slovakia could establish some basis for conducting similar research in other European countries.

Geographical disparities in the light of regional development constitute ever present issue affecting academic debates as well as decision process of policy makers also in the Central and East European countries, mainly during the last two decades. The purpose of this paper is to outline the economic development of one of the most underdeveloped regions in Slovakia, of Banská Bystrica, during the transformation stage of post-socialist societal development, with emphasis on the period after 2000, in the context of the economic performance related to other regions of the country.

For this purpose, several economic indicators (unemployment rate, vacancies, employment in economic sectors, wages, gross domestic product, foreign direct investment and housing construction) are utilised, whose common contribution to assessing the economic performance of a territorial system is secured by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methodological approach. Thus, analytical part of the study stems from standard statistical data, enriched by 11 in-depth interviews conducted with stakeholders involved in socio-economic and political life of the region.

Of internal factors, innovation capacity of the region and supporting the business environment appear to be a key for its further economic development. Attractiveness for foreign direct investment as well as social cohesion of the EU are considered the crucial factors of regional development stemming from the external environment.

Using TOPSIS method and series of in-depth interviews with regional stakeholders the authors identified development prospects of underdeveloped Banská Bystrica region, in the context of opportunities and threats forming its presence in the near future.

Studies on the work integration of persons with disabilities (PwD) and the role of social dialogue therein are scarce. The study examines how the different systems of workers’ representation and industrial relations in Slovakia and Norway facilitate PwD work integration. Taking a social ecosystem perspective, we acknowledge the role of various stakeholders and their interactions in supporting PwD work integration. The paper’s conceptual contribution lies in including social dialogue actors in this ecosystem.

Evidence was collected via desk research, 35 semi-structured in-depth interviews with 51 respondents and stakeholder workshops in 2019–2020.

The findings from Norway confirm the expected coordination of unions and employers in PwD work integration. Evidence from Slovakia shows that in decentralised industrial relations systems, institutional constraints beyond the workplace determine employers’ and worker representatives’ approaches in PwD integration. Most policy-level outcomes are contested, as integration occurs predominantly via sheltered workplaces without interest representation.

This paper identifies the primary sources of variation in the work integration of PwD. It also highlights opportunities for social partners across both situations to exercise agency and engagement to improve PwD work integration.

By integrating two streams of literature – social policy and welfare state and industrial relations – this paper examines PwD work integration from a social ecosystem perspective. Empirically, it offers novel qualitative comparative evidence on trade unions’ and employers’ roles in Slovakia and Norway.

The purpose of this paper is to learn more about demand for competences is crucial for revealing the complex relationship between employee selection, different strands of education and training and labor market regulation.

Content analysis and statistics of job advertisements.

Employer skills requirements even for low- and medium-skilled jobs are highly specific. Formal education requirements are higher than they “should” be. No detectable “basic package” of general cognitive skills for low- and medium-skilled jobs was found. Employer demand focusses on non-cognitive skills and specific cognitive skills. Specificity of skill requirement across different sectors or occupation groups differs vastly between different types of low- and medium-skilled jobs and is linked to the interactive nature of the job, not to the qualifications or the experience required.

The analysis can be considered an initial feasibility test for a larger comparative cross-country project that would aim to understand labor demand in different EU countries.

The analysis could be used as input in designing labor market policy and life-long learning programs to integrate low-skilled and unemployed.

The research provides a tool to match disadvantaged workers to jobs for which they possess greater capabilities or to help them develop crucial skills for a given occupation.

This paper contributes to the HRM literature with a more demand-led approach to labor market policy. The authors reveal what role skills and upskilling can play in alleviating the problem of unemployment. The results can be useful for HR specialists and policy makers.