ALBERT

Description: This paper analyses demographic trends and population decline of the rural area surrounding Niksic, Montenegro, from the second half of the 20th century to the first two decades of the 21st century. After World War II, industry in Niksic began to develop strongly. A large number of state enterprises started to operate, and the consequent industrialisation and improved living conditions triggered a wave of migration from the surrounding rural areas to Niksic. The paper describes the depopulation of rural areas and the causes and consequences of migration within the Municipality of Niksic based on an analysis of population movement and density, the rural and urban populations, and the age structure of the population. Transformations of the economy after 1990 indicate that the neglect of agriculture and the destruction of agricultural land are mistakes that will prove difficult to correct. The results of our research reveal that, today, revitalisation of the countryside is only possible if non-agricultural activities are brought to the area centres and the quality of life is improved in the villages, which would reduce unemployment in the city. A solid traffic infrastructure between individual settlements and their connection with the city is also necessary. Between 2003 and 2011, the agricultural population increased by 1.2%, which gives hope because agriculture is now being recognised as significant, and a movement for changing the inherited negative perception of it is being created. This research is addressed to the state and municipal administrations of the region with the message to implement responsible and timely measures to revitalise the countryside and stop the extinction of the villages.

Description: By using the balanced scorecard model, a company is able to identify its advantages, as well as its deficiencies, and thus improve its business. The introduction of innovations and the implementation of innovative activities in companies are key for gaining a competitive advantage. There is no ideal model that would measure the non-financial, non-tangible perspectives of a company (such as customer perspective, the perspective of research and innovation, and the perspective of internal processes). The main goal of this paper is researching the applicability of the balanced scorecard model in small- and medium-sized companies as the basis for a model for assessing innovative activities in the Republic of Slovakia and the Republic of Serbia. First, a hypothetical model was created based on theoretical data from world scientific articles. Then, the structural equation model (SEM model) was created, based on the conducted research in 223 companies and the obtained results.

Description: The concept of sustainable tourism development is imposed as an inevitable way of improving the tourism industry as a whole. This study tries to offer an adequate inclusion of sustainable factors in overall tourism development efficiency results. Through the detection and estimation of potential sources of efficiency, the paper will do the efficiency benchmarking of tourism services on the level of countries as destinations. In order to complete the task, data collection was focused on 27 EU countries and five Western Balkan countries over the period from 2011 to 2017. This paper utilized an output-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) procedure to estimate efficiency scores for each country, and a panel data Tobit regression model to emphasize the (in)significance of each individual tourism development indicator. The results in the first stage show relatively high-efficiency scores, particularly in the case of EU 15 countries and with room for improvement in the case of the others. The second stage reveals positive and significant effects on relative tourism efficiency by the sustainability of tourism development, the share of GDP, tourist arrivals and inbound receipts, as well as visa requirements and rate of use. Policymakers should gradually take control of the mentioned variables to protect the interests of all relevant stakeholders involved in the tourism development process.

Description: The purpose of this paper is creating analyses for understanding the personality characteristics related to emotional intelligence and how can this define the development program of personal characteristics in the processes of education for Industry 4.0. The main research goal is to measure dimensions of emotional intelligence in the student population based on a quantitative survey (Emotional Competence Inventory) through dimensions of emotional intelligence: self-regulation, self-awareness, and attitude towards changes. Since the student population was the research target, a group of 338 engineering students was selected. The group was characterized by highly diversified geographic origin, having previously completed school and achieved success. The results show that there are statistically significant differences between all three dimensions of emotional intelligence. Namely, self-regulation and attitude towards changes (both directly and indirectly through self-regulation) are positively affected by self-awareness, while attitude towards changes is positively affected by self-regulation. Developing student emotional potential is one of the most important actuators of business for Industry 4.0, especially in countries with low educational attainment and low social and economic indicators.

Description: The aim of this research was to study the impact of application technique and rate of liquid starter fertilizer applied with a novel device on the production of corn. Starter fertilizer was applied in the root system range of freshly germinated plants in the ‘belt’ and ‘point’ forms at different quantities (35, 50, 70, and 100 L ha−1), which led to intensive plant growth in the initial stages of development. This adapted system was used for sowing and for application of the liquid starter fertilizer at the same time. The field trial was set up at two sites (two different land types), in the conditions of the natural water regime of the soil during the three vegetation seasons in the period 2016–2018. For this purpose, a prototype of the electronic device EUKU-01 was designed. The starter fertilizer was applied at 5 cm laterally from the row where the sowing was performed and 5 cm below the depth at which the corn seeds were sown. Data were statistically analyzed by two-factor analysis of variance, where the influence of mineral fertilizer treatment and the influence of liquid starter fertilizer treatment were observed as factors. The results showed that the optimal choice of the technique of liquid starter fertilizer application can result in fertilizer savings by 30% without reducing yield.

Description: The aim of this paper was to investigate the level of influence of online media on the parents’ attitudes toward vaccination of children in three countries of the Western Balkans—Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to use the potentials of this form of communication effectively and efficiently. Online media are a critical factor of influence on the formation of attitudes in many areas of modern society, which is why their proper use plays an important role in strengthening vaccine confidence and which may further contribute to improvement of public health. On the other side, having in mind the fact that communication is an integral part of marketing, it is clear that social marketing has an extremely important role regarding the analyzed topic, especially because of the fact that social marketing activities tend to change or maintain people’s behavior for the benefit of individuals and society as a whole. For the purpose of this research, a conceptual model was developed. Quantitative research was conducted online in the first quarter of 2020 using the survey method. Statistical analysis was applied to data collected from 1593 parents in the analyzed countries. The relevance of the hypotheses was tested using standard statistical tests, ANOVA test, eta coefficient, and logistic regression. The research showed that all analyzed variables from the model have a significant impact on the parents’ attitudes toward the vaccination of children and that they correlate with the degree of trust in vaccines. The results also approved that online media have a significant influence on the formation of parents’ attitudes toward the vaccination of children (obtained values of eta coefficient η2 = 0.216, η2 = 0.18, η2 = 0.167, η2 = 0.090, reliability Cronbach’s Alpha 0.892), which confirms the importance of the use of social marketing in order to direct communication properly and to strengthen the level of trust in vaccines. Additionally, the results of logistic regression showed that the following groups of parents are particularly vulnerable to the influence of online media on attitudes toward vaccines: women, parents of younger age (“millennials”), and parents who are in common law marriage, as well as parents who have more children. In addition, the results showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the attitudes of parents in the observed countries (η2 = 0.000, F = 0.85). Based on the results of the research, the authors suggest that decision makers should pay more attention to modern forms of online communication and social marketing in order to use their potential for improvement of public health, as well as avoid the harmful impact that certain forms of communication may have on the formation of attitudes and loss of confidence in vaccines. The findings provide an important contribution for public health policy makers to identify and understand properly the impact of online media and social marketing and thus to better adapt their initiatives to changes in modern society.

Description: Considering the benefits of the organic production system, it is recognized as one of the main drivers of future economic development. However, the imbalance between demand and supply at the local market level represents one of the serious obstacles that prevents its future growth. Therefore, this article examines the key factors related to the main elements of the offer that have the strongest impact on consumer preferences and acceptance of organic food products. In that sense, organic product, price, distribution channel, and promotion are considered the main elements of the offer and are analyzed in this paper from the consumer preferences perspective. Further, this article provides insight into some of the sensory properties of the offer that are important to consumers. Finally, it gives recommendations for optimization of the offer on the organic food market based on the analysis of the influence of each of those elements (product, price, distribution, and promotion) on consumer acceptance of organic products and making purchasing decisions. The data were collected using a questionnaire, and analyzed using the structural equation model (SEM). The results revealed that price and promotion have the strongest impact on consumer acceptance and buying decisions. Further analysis revealed that attitudes towards organic food products, price/quality ratio, distribution barriers, and modern media as a promotion instrument are the factors that have the most significant impact on consumer perception and attitudes towards the available market offer. These findings can help producers and other decision makers to better understand what creates added value of the organic food products in consumers’ mind and therefore make an offer that is in line with their expectations and preferences, which is recognized as one of the main prerequisites for the acceptance and purchase of organic food products.

Description: This paper aims to examine attitudes of hospitality and tourism students, as future professionals, towards willingness to implement service robots. The study proposes a new theoretical conceptual model that includes new constructs and items, differentiating it from the others. The model was formed based on the extensive literature review and the interview with an eight-member focus group (hotel managers and academic researchers). Data collection was performed in two stages, pilot research based on 82 respondents and the main study, with the final number of respondents being 236. The initial results of the exploratory factor analysis were further tested using the confirmatory factor analysis. After the exclusion of several items due to low factor loadings and in order to improve model validity, analyses further suggested a nine-dimensional solution with 45 items. The study findings reveal a positive relationship between seven constructs and students’ willingness to implement service robots, with the expected business outcome being the most influencing one. On the other hand, positive relation was not found for empathy and social influence constructs. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed in the paper. In conclusion, study limitations and future research suggestions are provided.

Description: The physical-geographical features of the mountainous area of Montenegro cause difficulties in farmers’ life and work. The organization of the agricultural production faces a number of problems that limit the overall development of rural areas. Some agricultural crops, such as raspberry, have found optimal growth conditions and produce appropriate yields associated with good fruit quality in such mountainous area. The Willamette variety dominates the production and has broadly expanded, as some new varieties, most notably, Tulameen, Fertȍdi Zamatos, and Glen Ample. The aim of this paper was to examine the biological and production characteristics of two raspberry varieties—one floricane (Tulameen) and one primocane (Polka)—grown in two localities. We confirmed the general rule that at lower altitudes, these varieties (570 m a.s.l, Bijelo Polje) are characterized by earlier vegetation, flowering, and fruit ripening in comparison to plants at higher altitude (1040 m a.s.l, Mojkovac). The Tulameen variety started flowering on 15 May in Bijelo Polje (the flowering phenophase lasted for 29 days, until 12 June) and on 25 May in Mojkovac (the flowering phenophase lasted for 27 days, until 20 June). That is a delay of 11 days in relation to different locations. The Polka variety started flowering on 25 June in Bijelo Polje (57 days, until 20 August) and on 1 July in Mojkovac (flowering for 67 days, until 5 September). That is a delay of 7 days. The Tulameen variety started maturation on 14 June in Bijelo Polje (maturation lasted for 27 days, until 10 July) and on 22 June in Mojkovac (26 days, until 17 July), with a delay of 9 days. The Polka variety started maturation on 23 July in Bijelo Polje (the maturation phenophase lasted for 55 days, until 15 September) and on 5 August in Mojkovac (52 days, until 25 September), with a delay of 14 days. The results showed that the Polka variety had significantly higher total phenol content than the Tulameen variety (4.43 and 4.03 mg, respectively). In terms of locality, the Mojkovac raspberries had higher total phenol content than the Bijelo Polje raspberries. Polka raspberries also had a higher content of total flavonoids than Tulameen, whereas differences between localities in regard to the content of total flavonoids in the fruit were not significant. The content of condensed tannins and gallotannins in the raspberry fruit was similar in relation to both varieties and localities. Finally, the total antioxidant capacity was significantly higher in the Polka compared to the Tulameen variety, whereas the differences between localities were not statistically significant.

Description: Land use change in all river basins leads to changes in hydrologic response, soil erosion, and sediment dynamics characteristics. Those changes are often viewed as the main cause of accelerated erosion rates. We studied the impact of land use changes on soil erosion processes in one of the watersheds in Montenegro: the Miocki Potok, using this watershed as a pilot river basin for this area. We simulated responses of soil erosion processes by using a process-oriented soil erosion Intensity of Erosion and Outflow (IntErO) model, with different settings of land use for the years 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. The model provides fast, effective, and affordable insight into the effects of land use change on soil erosion processes. Testing of the applied procedures was important for the further establishment of watershed management methodologies at the national level, for the other 300 river basins of Montenegro. For the current state of land use, calculated peak discharge for the Miocki Potok was 364 m3 s−1 (2020)–372 m3 s−1 (1970) for the incidence of 100 years, and there is a possibility for large flood waves to appear in the studied basin. Real soil losses, Gyear, were calculated at 13680 m3 year−1 (2020) and specific 333 m3 km−2 year−1 (2020). A Z coefficient value of 0.439 (2020) indicated that the river basin belongs to destruction category III. The strength of the erosion process was medium, and according to the erosion type, it was mixed erosion. According to our analysis, the land use changes in the last 50 years influenced a decrease in the soil erosion intensity for 14% in the Miocki Potok River Basin. Further studies should be focused on the detailed analysis of the land use changes trends with the other river basins at the national level, closely following responses of soil erosion to the changed land use structure, and effects of plant-and-soil interaction on soil erosion and sediment dynamics.