Amendments to the tourist regulations at a public hearing by March 1st
The new Minister of Tourism, Anton Kliman, immediately got a job without waiting for the famous 100 days, which is more than a commendable and honestly unusual phenomenon on our political scene. One of the ministers first statements was that one of the main goals is to reduce VAT on hotel accommodation as Croatia currently with 13 percent VAT on hotel services is certainly not a competitor, both in the Mediterranean and throughout Europe. To illustrate, Italy, Spain and France have a VAT rate of 10 percent, Slovenia 9,5 percent, Montenegro and Malta 7 percent, Portugal and Malta 7 percent, and Greece only 5 percent.That the Minister of Tourism Anton Kliman is serious, is evidenced by the proactivity and the website of the Ministry of Tourism published proposals for amendments to four regulations in order to improve the accommodation offer in the tourism sector and it is open public consultation about them that will run until March 1, 2016.”Over the past week, we have been discussing in the course what amendments should be made to the new regulations in order for hotels, camps, family farms and other accommodation facilities to improve their business. According to the proposed changes, those obstacles that exist in business, which in practice have been shown to hinder the development of quality, would be removed. The aim of the proposed changes is to improve business in the market, facilitate the activities of tourism workers and adapt to market needs. The ordinances will be in public discussion for the next 30 days, so we invite the tourism sector, professional associations and all employees in tourism to send us their proposals in order to fully improve the business.”Pointed out the Minister of Tourism Anton Kliman.In hotels, instead of the current obligation to meet all standards for a particular category, it is proposed to meet one part of the mandatory standards, and in the long part to meet the electoral standards that are scored.”Some of the major changes are the introduction of the concept of glamping equipment and the definition of mobile homes and dormitories (cottages). Glamping equipment will be any type of equipment that provides a standard higher than usual (eg tent with bathroom) which is spatially placed in an unusual way (pillars, wood, water, rock and so on), in the type of “camp”, reception other facilities cannot be found in containers, except for the lowest category, the standards for a 5-star camp have been strengthened, ie the number of required family bathrooms, washing machine, children’s toilet has been increased. The commercial term “resort” and a new type – “camping rest area” are also introduced”, Said Zeljko Cvrtila, head of the Sector for Quality Management.As for “other facilities”, in bathrooms it will no longer be mandatory when for 5 stars, in hostels and similar facilities will not need a nightstand, bedside lamp and table with chair. For family farms, the room in the category marked with two “suns” will have their own toilets, and no longer common as it has been so far, the provision on the minimum height of the room is abolished, it remains only prescribed that the guest must be undisturbed, move safely and comfortably. It will not be necessary for household members to undergo an examination and obtain a health certificate, which has been the subject of discussions in recent years.Be sure to get in touch public debate, this is a democratic tool to change, act and propose your reasoned proposals. We sincerely hope that the new amendments to the law will contribute to the improvement of the tourism sector, and that this is only the first proactive move in a series of Minister Anton Kliman because we have to deal with tourism, not that it happens to us.Source: The ministry of tourism
People are really the most important link in tourism and I constantly emphasize that tourism workers are most responsible for this year’s tourist results, said Minister of Tourism Anton Kliman during a visit to Opatija hotels and tourist potentials of Matulji municipality where he shared local tourism awards in the action “I love Croatia – Matujska tourist rose “Which rewards” the most balcony “,” the most homely “and” the most catering facility “, and” the most renter “, the renter who has achieved the largest number of overnight stays in the past year.”This year we can be really proud, namely, in August there were almost 30 million overnight stays (compared to last year’s 26 million), and from the beginning of the year to the end of August even more than 75 million overnight stays, compared to last year’s 71 million. This is indeed a respectable increase in overnight stays, and the announcements for the post-season are also great”, Minister Kliman pointed out and added that the tourist results are excellent and that there is a respectable increase in overnight stays, while the announcements for the post-season are also excellent.According to the data of the eVisitor and eCrew (nautical) systems, ie on the basis of registrations and cancellations during the first eight months of this year, a total of 12,9 million arrivals and 75,1 million overnight staysDuring the mentioned period, most overnight stays were realized in the Adriatic counties, namely in Istria (20,7 million overnight stays), Primorje-Gorski Kotar (14,4 million overnight stays), Split-Dalmatia (14 million overnight stays), Zadar (9,7 million overnight stays). ), Dubrovnik-Neretva (5,9 million overnight stays) and Šibenik-Knin (5,3 million overnight stays).In the first eight months, tourists from Germany (14,2 million overnight stays), Slovenia (8,4 million overnight stays), Austria (5,7 million overnight stays), Italy (4,7 million overnight stays) and Poland realized the most overnight stays in Croatian destinations. (4,5 million overnight stays).
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is in the new summer schedule for 2017. introduced a direct line between Split and Amsterdam which means that from now on it will fly to two destinations in Croatia, to Zagreb and Split. At the beginning of the summer season of 2017, the capital of the Netherlands will be more accessible than ever, and at the peak of the season, passengers from Split will be able to choose between 8 weekly flights. In the pre- and post-season, KLM will have direct flights Split – Amsterdam on Saturdays and Sundays, and will use the Embraer 90 with 100 seats, while in the season the Dutch airline will use the Boeing 737 with 132 seats. ” For us, this is a historic day because KLM’s plane landed at Split Airport for the first time. This summer, we directly connected in total today two destinations in Croatia with the Dutch capital. KLM is celebrating its 98th anniversary this year making it the world’s oldest airline using the same name. We continue to hold the record thanks to constant innovation and modernization. ”- said Yeshwant Pawar, Director General for the Alps and Central Europe.KLM also brings the most widespread network of world destinations to Split. Together with Air France and other partners, it literally enables flights to every corner of the world via its hubs in Amsterdam and Paris. KLM has a fleet of 160 aircraft from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport connecting over 200 world destinations on all continents. Their Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which fly long distances between Amsterdam and several destinations in the global network including New York, Toronto, Shanghai, Beijing, now have a good connection from Split.Schiphol enables a transfer of only 40 minutes between flights because it has a special terminal that is adapted to such a short time with its facilities and navigation, which makes it the best European hub and has received many awards. KLM was also honored with the World Airline Awards for the best cabin crew in the world. ”We want to offer our passengers more direct lines from Amsterdam to the destinations they choose. In 2017. KLM will present 8 new routes, which will ultimately mean connecting 82 European destinations directly from Amsterdam. ” Pawar concludedFlight schedule Amsterdam – Split From 22.4.2017. KLM will fly twice a week: on Saturdays and Sundays. On those days, departure from Amsterdam is at 09.45, and arrival at 12.00 local time. The return flight from Split is scheduled for 12.50 local time, and arrival in Amsterdam at 15.15.
Share on Twitter Share The “Black Lives Matter” hashtag evolved as a call for social change aimed at increasing the conversation about racial inequality. But what if social change was less dependent on talking and more dependent on nonverbal communication?New research finds observing a white American engage in small nonverbal acts such as smiling more often, making eye contact for longer periods of time, and standing in closer proximity to a black American makes the observer less prone to racial biases. Specifically, small acts of positivity by white Americans towards African Americans and other black Americans causes observers to hold fewer stereotypes about black Americans and to have more positive attitudes towards black Americans in general.The findings are described in “Some Evidence for the Nonverbal Contagion of Racial Bias,” (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, June 2015), co-authored by Dana R. Carney, assistant professor, University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business; Greg Willard, research associate, Harvard University; and Kyonne-Joy Isaac, graduate student, Princeton University. Share on Facebook Pinterest
Email LinkedIn “Prejudice is often less overt. It manifests often as micro acts of aggression,” says Carney. “What is hopeful is that our study also indicates that positive behavior toward different social groups can be contagious.”Four related experiments to test the contagious effects of racial bias produced these results:1. Observers of micro-positive behavior toward a black American subject formed more positive impressions.2. Observers of micro-positive behavior toward a black American subject adopted fewer racial stereotypes.3. Observers of micro-positive behavior toward a black American subject were found to have less racial bias towards black Americans in general.4. Observers must also be aware that negative social behavior is being directed toward a black person in order to produce a pro-black bias outcome.The experiments consisted of participants who were randomly assigned to watch one of two types of videos. In one type of video, highly biased white Americans exhibited small, negative, and nonverbal behaviors of bias, such as less smiling, less leaning in, and less gazing, toward a black American. The second type of video showed whites who held black Americans in high regard and naturally expressed their positive biases through more smiling, more leaning in, and more gazing.In Experiment 1, for example, participants rated the black American in the video on how much they liked or disliked the person or whether or not they would want to be friends with this person. They also rated the black American on six adjectives: kind, considerate, thoughtful, hostile, unfriendly, dislikeable. The results: participants liked and wanted to be friends with the black American who was on the receiving end of positive micro nonverbal behaviors significantly more than they liked and wanted to be friends with black Americans who received negative nonverbal micro aggressions.
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Using survey data collected from the nationally representative National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) conducted between 2002 through 2013, the researchers broke the sample into three subgroups based upon age: younger adolescents (aged 12–14), older adolescents (aged 15–17), and young adults (aged 18–25). In breaking the sample into subgroups, distinct trends emerged within each category.The findings pertaining to younger (12-14 years) and older (15-17 years) adolescents suggests that adolescents have not become more permissive in their views on marijuana and have progressively decreased their use over the past decade. The opposite was the case for young adults aged 18-25. The survey results indicate a decreased amount of young adults who disapprove of marijuana use. Despite the downward trend of disapproval among young adults, actual marijuana use did not increase.“Study findings point to the importance of examining changes in the perception and use of marijuana with an appreciation for developmental differences,” concluded Dr. Salas-Wright and the team. “Changes are certainly underway in terms of the perception and use of marijuana among American youth.” Pinterest LinkedIn
Share Email Groundbreaking research published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse suggests that adolescents have become less likely to approve of and use marijuana over the last decade when compared to young adults. This is coming during a time where a majority of Americans support the full legalization of marijuana, according to a 2013 Gallup poll.The study, Trends in the Disapproval and Use of Marijuana among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States: 2002–2013, is free to read in the newest issue of the journal online.“With respect to drug use, we are in a unique historical moment – American adults are changing in the way that we think about marijuana and lots of changes in policy are underway in terms of the decriminalization, medicalization, and legalization of marijuana use in cities and states across the country,” explained Dr. Christopher Salas-Wright and his colleagues. “Given this context, we were interested in understanding how such changes might be impacting the way young people are thinking and behaving with regards to marijuana.”
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Email Eating a lot of fish may help curb the risk of depression–at least in Europe–suggests a pooled analysis of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.The association between a fishy diet and mental health appears to be equally significant among men and women, the first analysis of its kind indicates.Depression affects an estimated 350 million people worldwide, and is projected to become the second leading cause of ill health by 2020. Several previous studies have looked at the possible role of dietary factors in modifying depression risk, but the findings have been inconsistent and inconclusive.The researchers therefore pooled the data from relevant studies published between 2001 and 2014 to assess the strength of the evidence on the link between fish consumption and depression riskAfter trawling research databases, they found 101 suitable articles, of which 16 were eligible for inclusion in the analysis. These 16 articles included 26 studies, involving 150, 278 participants.Ten of the studies were cohort studies, which involve monitoring a group of people who don’t have the condition in question for a period of time to see who develops it. The remainder were cross-sectional: these look at the association between a condition and other variables of interest in a defined population at a single point in time or over a brief period.Ten of the studies involved participants from Europe; 7 those from North America; the rest involved participants in Asia, Oceania, and South America.After pooling all the data together, a significant association emerged between those eating the most fish and a 17% reduction in depression risk compared with those eating the least. This was found in both cohort and cross-sectional studies, but only for the European studies.When the researchers looked specifically at gender, they found a slightly stronger association between high fish consumption and lowered depression risk in men (20%). Among women, the associated reduction in risk was 16%.This is an observational study so no definitive conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, added to which fish consumption was measured using different dietary assessment methods across the various studies. But there may be a plausible biological explanation for the link, suggest the researchers.For example, it has been suggested that the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish may alter the microstructure of brain membranes and modify the activity of the neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin, both of which are thought to be involved in depression.Furthermore, the high quality protein, vitamins, and minerals found in fish may help stave off depression, while eating a lot of fish may be an indicator of a healthy and more nutritious diet, suggest the researchers.“Higher fish consumption may be beneficial in the primary prevention of depression,” they conclude, adding: “Future studies are needed to further investigate whether this association varies according to the type of fish.”
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Doctors and disability rights organisations have voiced fears that use of the tough new criteria to measure incapacity to work is undermining the mental health of claimants. However, up till now, there has been no hard evidence to substantiate these concerns.To find out if there was any link between use of the WCA and a rise in the prevalence of mental health issues, the researchers analysed the numbers of disability assessments carried out in 149 local authorities in England between 2004 and 2013.They looked at local trends in suicide rates among 18 to 64 year olds; antidepressant prescribing patterns; and Labour Force Survey data on self-reported mental health issues among the working population in each local authority.Between 2010 and 2013, more than one million (1.03) people claiming disability benefit were reassessed using the WCA. A higher proportion of people living in areas of deprivation were reassessed.The analysis showed that in those areas with higher rates of reassessment, there was a corresponding increase in suicides, mental health issues, and antidepressant prescribing.After taking account of the impact of baseline deprivation, economic trends, and long term trends in mental health, the researchers calculated that, there were around six extra suicides, 2700 more cases of mental ill health, and an extra 7020 prescriptions for individual antidepressants for every 10,000 people reassessed during this period.This adds up to a total of 590 additional suicides, 279,000 extra cases of mental ill health and 725,000 more prescriptions for antidepressants across the country as a whole that were associated with the reassessment policy between 2010 and 2013..This is an observational study, so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. None the less, the researchers point out that they were at pains to adjust for other potentially influential factors, and that the observed increases in mental ill health followed–rather than preceded–the reassessment process.The findings have important implications for policy, they say, particularly as this was introduced without any evidence of its potential impact or any plans to evaluate its effects, added to which a further 1 million people will have been reassessed in 2015.The policy also raises ethical issues for the doctors involved, given that they have professional and statutory duties to protect the health of patients and the public, they add.“Our study provides evidence that the policy in England of reassessing the eligibility of [disability] benefit recipients using the WCA may have unintended but serious consequences for population mental health, and there is a danger that these adverse effects outweigh any benefits that may or may not arise from moving people off disability benefits,” they write.“Although the explicit aim of welfare reform in the UK is to reduce ‘dependency,’ it is likely that targeting the people living in the most vulnerable conditions with policies that are harmful to health, will further marginalise already excluded groups, reducing, rather than increasing, their independence,” they conclude. The introduction of a more stringent test to assess eligibility for disability benefit in England may have taken a “serious” toll on the nation’s mental health, concludes research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.Since 2010 the test, known as the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), has been used to assess the eligibility of claimants of the main out of work disability benefit, in a bid to get more people back into the workplace and help curb the government’s rising welfare bill.But areas with the greatest use of the WCA to assess existing claimants have seen the sharpest rises in reported suicides, mental health issues, and antidepressant prescribing, the findings show, prompting the researchers to question the wisdom of introducing this policy. Email
“Idiopathic or genetic dysfunction of calcium signaling triggers a sequence of pathological events leading to autophagic dysfunction, progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons and age-dependent impairment of vital motor functions typical for Parkinson’s disease,” explained corresponding author Victoria Bolotina, PhD, professor of medicine at BUSM.“Discovery of this new mechanism associated with human Parkinson’s disease and our ability to mimic this pathology in a novel genetic model opens new opportunities for finding a cure for this devastating neurodegenerative disease,” she added. Email A team of local researchers have discovered a previously unknown cellular defect in patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, and identified a sequence of pathological events that can trigger or accelerate premature death of certain neurons in the brain seen in this disease.The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, will provide a better understanding and further research towards a possible cure of Parkinson’s disease, which is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement and other vital functions in nearly one million people in the United States. Despite advances in understanding the causes of familial forms of this disease, the most prevalent idiopathic form of Parkinson’s disease remains a mystery.Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers discovered that the cells of people with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease have a previously unknown defect in the function of a specific PLA2g6 protein, causing dysfunction of calcium homeostasis that can determine whether some cells will live or die. Pinterest Share
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New research published in Cogent Social Sciences has found that in some situations, moderate internet users are more likely to be exposed to cyber-bullying than heavy internet users.In Bullying, cyber-bullying and Internet usage among young people in post-conflict Belfast, authors Francesca Savoldi, University of Lisbon, and Pedro Ferraz de Abreu, University of Aveiro, surveyed young people in the post-conflict city of Belfast about their experience of both offline, and online, bullying.“In certain steps of the transition in a divided city, cyberspace seems to constitute a new place for increasing verbal offence,” said Francesca Savoldi. ‘This may be because the internet allows bullies to remain anonymous and avoid immediate physical confrontation.” Pinterest Share on Twitter Email Bullying took the form of harassment, threats of violence, sectarianism and vulgar messages, with much online bullying seemingly a continuation of offline behaviours. And while young men were more likely to be the victims of bullying in the real world, young women reported higher levels of cyber-bullying.
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Email Share Share on Facebook Pinterest Children from war-torn areas of the globe are affected by trauma even before they are born, according to a new University of Florida study.To gather their results, researchers went to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region routinely called “the worst place in the world” to be a woman, said Darlene A. Kertes, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor in UF’s department of psychology. Women in this unstable region are routinely the target of rape and other war-related traumas.“Our research shows that stressful life experiences affect our bodies all the way down to our genes,” said Kertes, who also is affiliated with the University of Florida Genetics Institute.
Share on Twitter LinkedIn The study was published in the January/February issue of Child Development, the flagship journal for the Society for Research in Child Development. The results showed that mothers’ stressful life experiences were linked with epigenetic markers in key genes that regulate the body’s response to stress, in both mothers and newborns.“The study is one of the first of its kind to be conducted in a developing country,” Kertes said. “Most information to date about effects of stress and trauma on prenatal development has been gathered in a Western context.”Samples of umbilical cord blood, placenta and the mothers’ blood were collected at birth and tested for impacts of war trauma and chronic stress. The researchers looked at DNA methylation, an epigenetic process that makes genes more or less able to respond to biochemical signals in the body.During pregnancy, a mother’s bodily responses to stress are passed onto the fetus, affecting a child’s brain development, birth weight and functioning of the children’s own HPA axis even after they are born.The researchers looked at the babies’ birth weight as an indicator of children’s overall development. They found that stress-linked DNA methylation differences predicted lower birth weight.“The stress exposure affected the maternal and fetal tissues differently, which shows that the impact of stress differs depending on an individual’s life phase,” Kertes said, adding that stress experienced at very young ages affects the way the body responds to stress throughout life.This is the first time researchers have documented stress effects, either pre- or postnatal, on methylation of a gene called CRH in humans. CRH makes a hormone that triggers the body’s stress response. The study also confirmed stress effects on several other genes known to be involved in the stress response.Kertes and her colleagues have started to examine the longer term effects of stress on child development in conflict-ridden regions. She emphasized that traumatic events can also have cross-generational impacts.“War and conflict do not just impact the health and well-being for people who experience it directly,” she said. “It can potentially have long-term consequences for future generations.”