An EKC-based modelling of CO2 emissions, economic growth, electricity consumption and trade openness in Serbia.

Understanding the complex interactions between the economy and the environment is crucial for promoting sustainable development and mitigating the negative impact of human activities on the Planet. The importance of this issue for Serbia is evident as the country strives to balance economic growth and environmental protection to ensure a sustainable and resilient future. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate and model the relationship between CO2 emissions, economic growth, electricity consumption, and trade openness in Serbia. Initially, an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is used to characterize the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) using data from the period from 1995 to 2019, followed by the construction of a bootstrap logistic regression model to predict environmental quality in Serbia. Long-term estimates of the model confirm an inverted U-shaped relationship, where all three variables exert a statistically significant influence on CO2 emissions. In the short run, however, a causal relationship is only observed between electricity consumption and CO2 emissions. The logistic regression results show that all three factors significantly influence environmental quality. The study proposes policy recommendations for Serbia, such as promoting sustainable economic growth, implementing long-term programs to reduce CO2 emissions, reviewing trade policies to prioritize sustainable practices, and investing in renewable energy sources to reduce emissions.

The relationship between CO2 emissions, economic growth, available energy, and employment in SEE countries.

As a result of a greater worldwide aspiration for wealth and economic progress, increased use of natural resources for diverse industries resulted in increased pollution emissions, mainly carbon dioxide. Energy security, economic stability, job security, biodiversity loss, climate change, and global warming all require reconciliation and resolution now, more than ever before. This paper explores the causal relationship between CO2 emissions, economic growth, available energy, and employment for a panel of eight South-Eastern European countries from 1995 to 2019. We investigate the relationship using panel unit root tests, panel cointegration methods, and panel causality tests. The results show a short-run bidirectional panel causality between CO2 emissions and employment and between available energy and employment. The results further indicate a unidirectional causality from available energy and employment to GDP. The long-run causal relationship results show that the estimated coefficients of the lagged ECT in the CO2 emissions, GDP, and employment equations are statistically significant, implying that these variables could play a significant role in the system's adjustment process as it departs from long-run equilibrium. We also conducted a variance decomposition analysis, which allowed us to compare the extent of the individual factors' contributions to each other over the next 5 years.

Differences in the Psychological Profiles of Elite and Non-elite Athletes.

One of the main goals of sport psychology is to identify those psychological factors that are relevant for sport performance as well as possibilities of their development. The aim of the study was to determine whether the set of specific psychological characteristics [generalized self-efficacy, time perspective, emotional intelligence (EI), general achievement motivation, and personality dimensions] makes the distinction between athletes based on their (non)-participation in the senior national team, that is, their belonging to the subsample of elite or non-elite athletes depending on this criterion. According to the group centroids it can be said that elite athletes are characterized by a positive high score in self-efficacy, emotionality, present fatalistic time perspective, past positive time perspective, and openness to experience. They are also characterized by low past negative time perspective, emotional competence, and future time perspective. Non-elite athletes have the opposite traits. The results have been discussed in the context of their application in the process of talent selection and development in sport as well as the development of life skills in athletes.

Validation of the Oxford Knee Score and Lower Extremity Functional Score questionnaires for use in Slovenia.

BACKGROUND: With the increasing prevalence of total knee replacement (TKR) due to knee osteoarthritis, the absence of patient-reported outcome measures in Slovenia must be addressed. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) We cross-culturally adapted Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) questionnaires to the Slovenian-speaking community. (2) We evaluated OKS and LEFS psychometric characteristics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the first assessment (Time 1) Slovenian versions of both questionnaires (OKS-Slo and LEFS-Slo), knee pain, timed-up to go (TUG) and sit to stand (STS) tests were completed by 123 subjects (55% females), of which 78 were patients scheduled for TKR and 45 were healthy age-matched controls. The questionnaires were assessed one week apart (Time 2) to investigate the test-retest reliability, with 121 subjects (98.4%) completing second measurements. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed between the two groups. Where patients had greater body mass index, they were slower in TUG, weaker in STS, had greater knee pain in both knees and scored lower on both questionnaires. Additionally, correlation analysis showed that OKS-Slo and LEFS-Slo correlated almost perfectly (correlation coefficient [CC] = .968, p < 0.001). Excellent negative correlations were observed with TUG (OKS-Slo/CC = - 0.679, p < 0.001; LEFS-Slo/CC = - 0.692, p < 0.001) and STS (OKS-Slo/CC = 0.790, p < 0.001; LEFS-Slo/CC = 0.815, p < 0.001) tests, while knee pain of affected leg correlated the most (OKS-Slo/CC = - 0.923, p < 0.001; LEFS-Slo/CC = - 0.915, p < 0.001). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for both the OKS-Slo and LEFS-Slo ranged between 0.87 and 0.99, while the interclass correlation coefficient was excellent; i.e., 0.99. Finally, both questionnaires proved to be unidimensional measures. CONCLUSION: The Slovenian version of both questionnaires is feasible, valid and reliable for use in clinical studies including the older adult population in Slovenia. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, Diagnostic-case-control study.

Personality Traits and Self-Esteem in Combat and Team Sports.

The aim of this research was to examine whether psychological variables which make up basic dimensions of personality and self-esteem distinguish competitors in combat sports from competitors in team sports. The research included 149 respondents, aged 19 to 27 years. The Self-Esteem Scale questionnaire was used to measure self-esteem. The BFI inventory was used to measure personality traits according to the Big Five model: Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness to Experience. The basic research question is - does the set of psychological variables which make up basic dimensions of personality and self-esteem statistically significantly distinguish competitors in combat sports from the competitors in team sports? Both mean differences and simple discriminant function analyses for competitors in combat/team sports revealed that self-esteem, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were the most important factors distinguishing the two groups. Practical implications, limitations, and future research directions were discussed.

Validation of the Slovenian Version of Motor Imagery Questionnaire 3 (MIQ-3): Promising Tool in Modern Comprehensive Rehabilitation Practice.

PURPOSE: The high rate of injury incidence and its severity is estimated to cause approximately 9% of global mortality, while a large proportion of people surviving their injuries experience temporary or permanent disabilities. To reduce the occurrence of disability and improve general health of survivors, a more comprehensive rehabilitation approach is needed. Motor imagery is recognized as the promising cognitive strategy to counteract impaired functional capacity of the neuromuscular system. Thus, we aimed to provide to the Slovenian-speaking community a valid and reliable version of Motor Imagery Questionnaire - 3 [MIQ-3], that consists of kinaesthetic imagery [KI] and visual [i.e., Internal Imagery [IMI] and external imagery [EVI]] items. METHODS: We investigated both absolute and relative test-retest repeatability; construct validity and internal consistency of the KI, IMI and EMI items of the Slovenian version of MIQ-3 in 86 healthy adult subjects. RESULTS: Results showed high to very high average intra-class correlation coefficient [ICC] for the visual items [ICC=0.89] and KI items [ICC=0.92], whilst the measure of absolute variability presented as coefficient of variation [CV%] ranged from 4.9% [EVI] to 6.7% [KI]. The internal consistency was satisfactory [Cronbach α=0.91 [KI] and 0.89]) for both visual items. Confirmatory analysis confirmed a two-factorial structure of MIQ-3. CONCLUSION: Understanding the content of the questionnaire is of utmost importance to ensure its effectiveness in rehabilitation practice. The Slovenian translation of the MIQ-3 is culturally and linguistically equivalent to the original English version.