University of Prešov
  • Prešov, Slovakia
Recent publications
Reputational peer nominations are a common method for measuring involvement in aggression-related behaviors, encompassing the roles of aggressor, victim, and defender, but may be influenced by students' affective (dis)liking relationships. This social network study investigated whether dyad-and group-level (dis)liking relationships affect perceptions of classmates' involvement in physical aggression and explored the moderating roles of classroom moral disengagement and defending norms. The study employed a longitudinal design with two time points 6 months apart, encompassing 27 classrooms and 632 early adolescents. Using multiplex stochastic actor-oriented modeling, we found that liking, but not disliking, significantly influenced perceptions. Liking a classmate increased the likelihood of perceiving them as a defender. Moreover, students' own perceptions (aggressor, victim, and defender nominations) were shaped by the perceptions of classmates they liked, while classroom moral disengagement reduced this influence for defender nominations. Results on classroom defending norms were mixed. Our findings underscore the importance of accounting for students' liking relationships and classroom-level norms to reduce bias in peer nominations and improve the accuracy of assessments of aggression-related behaviors.
The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a widely used self-report measure of subjective well-being, but studies of its measurement invariance across a large number of nations remain limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset–with data collected between 2020 and 2022 –to assess measurement invariance of the SWLS across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups (N = 56,968). All participants completed the SWLS under largely uniform conditions. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that configural and metric invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional SWLS model has universal applicability. Full scalar invariance was achieved across gender identities and age groups. Based on alignment optimisation methods, partial scalar invariance was achieved across all but three national groups and across all languages represented in the BINS. There were large differences in latent SWLS means across nations and languages, but negligible-to-small differences across gender identities and age groups. Across nations, greater life satisfaction was significantly associated with greater financial security and being in a committed relationship or married. The results of this study suggest that the SWLS largely assesses a common unidimensional construct of life satisfaction irrespective of respondent characteristics (i.e., national group, gender identities, and age group) or survey presentation (i.e., survey language). This has important implications for the assessment of life satisfaction across nations and provides information that will be useful for practitioners aiming to promote subjective well-being internationally.
Weeds cause a decrease in the quantity and quality of agricultural production and economic damage to producers. The prolonged use of synthetic pesticides causes problems of environmental pollution, the possible alteration of agricultural products and problems for human health. For this reason, the scientific community’s search for products of natural origin, which are biodegradable, safe for human health and can act as valid alternatives to traditional herbicides, is growing. Essential oils can have useful implications in agriculture by acting as effective alternatives to chemical herbicides. In this work, the chemical composition of an EO from Artemisia herba-alba and its herbicidal properties were studied on two weeds (Lolium multiflorum and Trifolium pratense) and two crops (Brassica napus and Hordeum vulgare) and its environmental safety was also assessed using three model organisms: Chaoborus sp., Tubifex tubifex and Eisenia foetida. The principal component of the EO was camphor (26.02%), with α- and β-thujone (9.60 and 8.38%, respectively), 1,8-cineole (8.02%), piperitenone (5.29%) and camphene (4.95%) as the main components. The EO demonstrated variable phytotoxic effects with a dose-dependent manner, inhibiting both the germination and the radical elongation of the tested seeds, and was also found to be environmentally safe for the selected organisms. The results lay the foundation for considering this EO as a potential weed control agent.
The paper investigates the feedback from 2nd and 3rd year students in a teacher training programme as part of the e-portfolio course implementation. Mahara e-portfolio platform was used in a compulsory elective course to enhance the learning experience and provide online space for completing various reading, listening, writing, speaking skills, and vocabulary tasks. The research adopts a qualitative approach and analyses expectations, fears, and contributions (before the implementation) related to e-portfolios and likes, dislikes, and suggestions (after the course completion). The paper reflects the students’ first-hand experience with e-portfolios and seeks to contribute to the growing area of research on this topic. Based on the data, the expectations towards e-portfolios were relatively positive. The students showed concerns, especially over technical issues and digital skills. As to the potential contribution, the students highlighted the interactive nature of e-portfolios. At the end of the course, the students appreciated especially peer-to-peer learning. On the other hand, the students showed a negative attitude towards difficulties and challenges with using the eportfolio at the beginning of the process. The students also suggested using one platform instead of multiple platforms. The findings can be of interest to teachers, lecturers, instructors or anyone planning to implement eportfolios in the field of education, especially with a focus on higher education.
This article emphasises the importance of parasitological research in understanding ecological dynamics and biodiversity conservation through a global analysis of quill mites (Syringophilidae) parasitising Sunbirds (Nectariniidae). Data from 764 Sunbird individuals across seventy-six species revealed twelve quill mite species, including three newly described species: Aulonastus aethopygus Sikora and Unsoeld sp. n., Syringophiloidus haeckeli Sikora and Unsoeld sp. n., and Aulonastus arachnotherus Sikora and Unsoeld sp. n. A bipartite network analysis indicated a low connectance of 0.10, suggesting that only 10% of potential bird–parasite connections are realised. This high specialisation is further supported by an H2′ index of 0.94 and a C score of 0.83, indicating low co-occurrence among mite species. The temperature of nestedness at 13.49 suggests a well-organised network structure. Additionally, normalised specialisation (d’) ranged from 0.60 to 1, reflecting unique host–parasite interactions. High modularity (likelihood = 0.80) with nine modules was identified, with hosts ranging from one to seven. The study concludes by discussing the host–parasite dynamics and their ecological implications within this system.
This study examines effects of mergers and acquisitions on entrepreneurship in the banking industry and identifies substantial factors of changing in its financial performance and risks from aspect of bank profitability in the economy of Slovakia, using regression modelling. The relationships between the dependence of the profitability of banking sector and selected financial indicators from aspect of its performance have been surveyed spanning a period of nine years (2004-2012). The research problem is as following: Do mergers and acquisitions create a value added and are desirable or more risky from financial aspect in the market economy. The task of this study is to use the financial analysis and project a multiple regression model (using data 1997-2011) to determine the success level of bank merger/acquisition between CSOB Bank and ISTROBANK in 2009, operating on the Slovak banking market. In the research hypotheses we investigate if the real profit development strengthened due to the impact of the bank merger/acquisition and impact of risks due to the global crisis on the financial performance. The novel designed linear regression model with seven independent variables, based on the methodology of empirical studies, compares the estimated and real profit development before and after bank merger/acquisition (2009-2011) as well. Our findings indicate that comparable models based on the existence of common relationships and dependences can be applied in other countries of the EU and present implications for decisions-making in the field of the increase global financial performance, trends and growth strategies of commercial banks.
Purpose: During COVID-19, significant changes in protein abundance can be linked with disease-related processes. The mass spectrometry-based proteomics of COVID-19-related biomarkers can help with the prognosis and diagnosis of this severe disease. Design: Here, we surveyed scientific works in terms of proteomic analysis of solid tissues and non-blood fluids from COVID-19 patients. Works published since 2022 to date have been covered. Results: Brain, lymph nodes, heart, spleen, aorta walls, liver, adrenal gland and kidneys were investigated as solid organs/tissues. The non-blood fluids involved exhaled breath particles, airway mucus, saliva, swabs, colostrum/milk and urine. The provided table depicts studies/experimental platforms to analyse COVID-19-related candidate protein biomarkers. Conclusion: Even eminent research input has been made in this field, continuation towards deeper findings should be made. Translation of proteomics into the clinics to help with diagnostics and therapeutical strategies, is a highly important task. The analysed candidate protein biomarkers are the perspective molecules for pending clinical decisions making and treatments.
The article focuses on the problem of social and emotional intelligence in school environment, as this aspect of social psychology has never been researched in detail from the pedagogical viewpoint. The main objectives of the research were to find out whether headmasters, teachers and students are socially and emotionally skilled, whether social and emotional intelligence are viewed differently according to gender and whether there are any connections between the mentioned aspects and the age of respondents. In the first part of the analysis we tried to find differences between the position within an organisation and social and emotional intelligence. The second part focuses on the differences between gender and social and emotional intelligence. The third part describes the connections between the age of respondents and social and emotional intelligence. The research was carried out by means of the TSIS and TEIQue-SF questionnaires on the sample of 569 participants.
In relation to the problem of conceptualization and operationalization of social intelligence, several issue areas are discussed. This report presents an analysis of the extracted factor structure of the MESI methodology which represents the psychometric approach to studying and measuring social intelligence. The results of the research carried out on the sample of 1130 respondents enabled extraction of the structure of the MESI methodology factors (manipulation, empathy and social irritability). The report also introduces the full version of the MESI methodology.
A fundamental prerequisite for understanding and protecting biodiversity is the construction of a high-quality faunal database. The primary objective of this study was to address knowledge gaps in the biodiversity of the family Psychodidae in Estonia. Faunistic data on 45 species of moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Estonia are presented, including 30 new country-records. Sixteen species are considered important for nature conservation. An updated checklist of the family, comprising 71 species, is provided for the Baltic countries. Habitus photographs of selected Estonian species are also included.
Aim This study aimed to identify sleep profiles in a representative sample of Slovak adolescents and investigate their associations with adiposity indicators and cardiorespiratory fitness. Methods Data from the 2022 Health Behaviour in School‐aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in Slovakia were analysed. Survey questions on sleep duration and problems from the entire HBSC sample ( n = 8906) were used to identify sleep profiles. Associations with adiposity indicators and cardiorespiratory fitness were investigated in a subsample of 924 adolescents (average age 13.3 ± 1.48; 56.2% boys) who completed the HBSC survey, bioimpedance analysis, and 20‐metre shuttle run test. Results Three sleep profiles were identified—optimal sleepers, optimal sleepers with sporadic sleep problems and poor sleepers. Crude models showed that poor sleepers had significantly higher body fat percentage and fat mass index, along with lower cardiorespiratory fitness, compared to optimal sleepers. After adjustment, only the association between sleep profiles and cardiorespiratory fitness remained significant. Conclusion The observed associations between sleep profiles and cardiorespiratory fitness may help better target future intervention resources towards adolescents with low cardiorespiratory fitness levels.
The thickness of the face's soft tissue has been widely measured through different populations around the world. In this study, we gathered and compared multiple measurements including our study group. We set the variables and included studies in which only females with normal values of BMI, age from 18 to 30 years old were studied, and we included research with more than 10 study participants. We gathered 32 various studies and tested them with Kruskal-Wallis's test in RStudio. Statistical significance in tissue thickness was not confirmed when compared with the results of studies of different populations, which may indicate a greater importance in the bony mass in facial identification.
The paper delves into scientific atheism, distinguishing between atheist thought as mere opinion and its development into a comprehensive worldview under Marxist-Leninist influence. It explores scientific atheism’s role as both a philosophical discipline and an ideology that has significantly impacted philosophers from our region across generations. Initially, scientific atheism represented an ideological commitment to materialism and rationalism. However, for subsequent generations, it evolved into a pragmatic strategy for consolidating political power, fostering social unity, and enhancing state control. This study not only outlines the integration of dialectical and historical materialism into Czechoslovakia’s mid-20 th -century scientific and education systems but also examines the shifting perception of scientific atheism through different philosophical generations, highlighting its practical significance in Marxist-Leninist-dominated regions.
The term philosophical generation , or generations , covers one such initiative in new readings in the history of 20 th century philosophy, ethics, and moral philosophy. It focuses its attention on interactions between philosophers as personalities, as teachers of philosophy, and their student-philosophers. It is interested in the interactions that shape the tradition of philosophical thinking and ethics in such unique environments as university departments, institutes of academies, scientific societies, journal editorial offices, or publishing houses. The present study provides an analysis of the existing state of the generational discourse in a historical-philosophical context starting from the 20 th century. It focuses on the prospects and pitfalls of the applicability of this lens when examining Slovak philosophical and ethics work in the 20 th century and today. It brings thinking about the extent to which the given approach could contribute to existing reflections of our philosophy and ethics and the effort to answer the question of our philosophical identity. It would make possible to point out perspectives and, at the same time, the pitfalls of grasping the formation of philosophical generations in the Slovak academic environment.
The study aims were: (1) to assess the incidence in 1 year, the cumulative incidences and the period prevalence in 3/5 years of the condition of patients accruing cumulative effective dose (CED) ≥ 100 mSv in health care centres providing CT examinations in Slovakia; and (2) to quantify their variability among different centres, to test the feasibility of establishing recurrent exposure reference levels (RERL) on a nationwide level. The data were tracked during five consecutive years using the CT dose index and dose-length-product along with the patient’s ID. ED was calculated using conversion factors. Hospitals were stratified according to the number of beds in clinics (0), small (< 200), medium (201–500), or large (> 500) hospitals. The database included 1,278,928 patients who underwent 2,157,508 CT exams in 5 years. The I100;1 (%), I100;3 (%), I100;5 (%) ranged from 0% to 6.2%, from 0.3% to 23.2% and from 0.3% to 36.9%, respectively. The P100;3 (%), P100;5 (%) ranged from 0.17% to 13.3% and from 0.19% to 17.8%, respectively. No significant differences were found in epidemiological indexes among different hospital sizes. A strong positive correlation was found between the third quartile values of yearly CED and I100;1 (%) (r = 0.84; R2 = 0.70; p < 0.0001). RERL value, set as the 75th percentiles of the distributions of the 3rd quartiles of the yearly CED, amounted to 25.7 mSv. The management of patients with recurrent CT exposures is highly variable among hospitals and unrelated to the size of the institution. Incidence should be reported instead of prevalence. Question Beyond just reporting statistics on recurrent imaging, the question which needs to be addressed is how to use such information to optimise patient protection. Findings In Slovakia the 5-year incidence of patients with CED ≥ 100 mSv average 6% and range from 0.3% to 36.9% among different hospitals. Clinical relevance The incidence of patients with CED ≥ 100 mSv is highly variable among hospitals and unrelated to their size. The heterogeneity in the radiation exposure of recurrent patients prompts the introduction of RERL to aid in the optimisation of patient protection.
The leitmotif of the article is an analysis and interpretation of disputes about the nature of Slovak philosophy in the contexts of the formation of individual philosophical generations from the middle of the 19 th to the middle of the 20 th century. In the content core of the article, the dispute is about the nature of Slovak philosophy in the first generation of its representatives, which was represented by the followers of the so-called “Štúr School”. As a follow-up to this dispute, the article analyzes the ideological confrontations of followers of religious and secular philosophical thought in Slovakia during the first Czechoslovak republic. It is a dispute between followers of classical (European) positivism and, partly, Masarykism with the representatives of contemporary religious philosophy in Slovakia. At the end of the paper, the trend of disputes about the nature of Slovak philosophy is outlined even in the period after the Stalinist , and, later, the so-called normalization indoctrination of Slovak philosophy.
The post-war generation of Marxist Slovak intelligentsia was formed from people who had experience with the war and this experience in the fight against fascism, together with the pre-war social situation, were the main reasons of their inclinations towards the theory of socialism and at the same time caused their sharp criticism of the Church and its ideas. Jaroslav Čelko can also be included in the generation of these authors, and this paper describes and explores his ideas and their influence on the development of secular humanism during the existence of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and after its disintegration. At the same time, the aim of the paper is to evaluate the influences and connections between the ideas of scientific atheism (including examples of the works of Jaroslav Čelko) and secular humanism in Slovakia.
An uncommon host-parasite relationship is presented: Carnus hemapterus Nitzsch, 1818 (Diptera: Carnidae) parasiting fledgling of Coracias garrulus Linnaeus, 1758. This host association has hitherto not been recorded from the territory of Romania.
Data on the occurrence of non-biting moth flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) from the area of Králický Sněžník Mts and neighbouring environs is presented. A total of 56 species are recorded. Seven species are critically endangered: Philosepedon (Trichosepedon) balkanicum Krek, 1971; Clytocerus (Boreoclytocerus) rivosus (Tonnoir, 1919); Saraiella parva (Vaillant, 1963); S. rotunda (Krek, 1970); Szaboiella hibernica (Tonnoir, 1940); Tonnoiriella nigricauda (Tonnoir, 1919) and Ulomyia plumata (Tonnoir, 1919). Four species are endangered: Threticus incurvus Krek, 1972; Pneumia stammeri (Jung, 1956); P. vittata (Tonnoir, 1919) and Ulomyia vaseki Ježek, 2002. Two species are vulnerable: Threticus arvernicus Vaillant, 1972 and T. silvaticus Ježek, 1985. Moreover, one species which has unfortunately so far not assessed useful conservation status (NS, nationally scarce, used newly in the past): Berdeniella vimmeri Ježek, 1995 is also recorded. A basic prerequisite for the understanding and protection of biodiversity is the building of a high-quality faunal and taxonomic base. This knowledge can be applied to the protection of endangered species (14 in this account), as well as in the management of their habitats, often destroyed by developers of large mountain touristic bases.
The introduction of ChatGPT and other tools based on artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the field of education. We study how the public release of ChatGPT and the increased attention on this new large language model from OpenAI are associated with the expected returns of publicly traded firms that operate in the education sector. We also perform separate subgroup analyses for the traditional education sector and the so-called education technology sector. Using linear and threshold CAPM-GARCH models, we find that after the public release of ChatGPT, both the education sector as a whole and the education technology sector have underperformed benchmarks. Our results show that increased attention leads to lower next-day returns in the education sector as a whole and the education technology sector in particular. Additionally, during periods of higher attention, expected returns tend to decline in these two sectors. We also show that the introduction of ChatGPT or the increased interest in this AI tool in the population does not affect the traditional education sector. The introduction of ChatGPT thus has a heterogeneous effect across the various education sectors we examine, with the education technology sector receiving most of the disruption.
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Peter Manko
  • Department of Ecology
Alexander Csanády
  • Department of Biology
Alena Kacmarova
  • Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies
Martin Hromada
  • Department of Ecology
Michal Rendoš
  • Department of Ecology
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Prešov, Slovakia