HŽ Passenger Transport (Croatia)

This article is a brief introduction to important terms related to Islam. It also provides an overview of important differences in modern Islamic thought. According to the literature in this field, three schools of thought are distinguished and elements that differ from each other are explored. Also, the article treats Islamic economics by exploring its development as an academic field of study and provides an overview of important concepts and topics. Here we will see how the differentiation into three schools of modern Islamic thought is relevant to the understanding of Islamic economics and some of its controversial issues. The article, in addition, introduces the concept of sustainable development, explores the development of the concept and introduces important concepts related to that idea. Finally, the last section deals with the correlation between the Islamic economy and sustainable development.

The definition and conclusion of the Public service obligation contract for rail (PSO contract) is between the national passenger railway carrier and the competent transport Ministry. The PSO contract represents an optimal mode of transport arrangement as a unified and unique traffic model with traffic criteria such as timetable, type of vehicle, quality requirements, user behaviour and expected revenues. To conclude a PSO contract, it is necessary to provide a methodology for modelling criteria for transport services of general interest respectively for making the role of a train operator sustainable and satisfying for public needs. AHP method was used for criteria valuation among twenty experts. Encouraging rail passengers transport based on users’ requirements leads to a different way of conducting business operations for the carrier. Research results based on experts’ opinions shows that most important sub-criteria for providing quality transport service is a state of infrastructure while evaluating timetable parameters. To keep the service on a satisfactory level, experts consider that diesel train costs and maintenance costs needs to be reduced. Experts also concluded that quality requirements sub-criteria such as availability and safety should be provided before and during the journey. Offering numerous and useful amenities at stations such as bars, kiosks and ticket offices will help to retain service users. Last and the most important expert’s opinion conclusion is that public passenger transport is depending on state funds and budget. The current practice of awarding PSO contracts is based solely on the scoring of tenders received through published tenders and therefore requires a model that will include all relevant parameters and their corresponding sub-criteria.

A survey was conducted with the aim of analysing the knowledge and act of the Croatian population regarding food waste. Nearly half (48%) of the respondents reported that the main culprit in household food wastage was preparation of excessive amounts of food for meals, while, for one third of the respondents, in second place as a reason for occurrence of food waste was the purchasing of an excessive amount of food (28.5%). Respondents were also asked to assess what activities they conduct to reduce food waste in their households. Most respondents (34.8%) stated that they feed the dog or cat, while 27.6% store leftovers in the freezer. Almost a third of the respondents (27.6%) discard leftovers from the meal in the bin without any further use. Most respondents regard the discarding of food to be a financial loss to the household (68.1%) and to affect the environment negatively (63.1%), and most of them discard food when they suspect it is unsafe (54.3%). Answers to the question of differentiating date tags on foods showed that 36.8% of respondents do not understand the labels on food packaging. Only 13.8% of respondents reported having organized collection of bio-waste at their place of residence.

The paper presents the preparation of biocomposites from waste seashells as reinforcement and poly(methyl methacrylate), abbreviated as PMMA as the matrix. The used seashells belong to the snow-white Bahamian species of tiger lucine (Codakia orbicularis) from the Island of Coco Cay. Seashells were grinded and homogenized with poly(methyl methacrylate) powder, with the seashell powder content ranging between 2 and 14 wt%, and finally hot pressed. Morphology of prepared composites was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, and it was determined that the particle distribution was homogenous with no agglomeration. Mechanical properties (microhardness, compressive strength, Young's modulus) of biocomposite materials produced from different amount of waste seashells in poly (methyl methacrylate) were determined and analyzed. The best overall combination of mechanical properties was achieved when 6 wt% of seashell particles below 50 μm size were added to poly (methyl methacrylate).

Today we are becoming more aware that the meanings linked to the Balkans are undoubtedly changing. In democratic and civilized Western Europe, ‘multiculturalism’ is becoming a myth (and a politically incorrect term). On the other hand, in the region of Southeastern Europe (which is the new politically correct term for the notorious Balkans), the acceptance of Otherness, reconfiguration of national, gender, or racial identity, and the subversion of limiting ideological and, most frequently, patriarchal norms are all becoming necessities of the current post‐war period and the state of transition. While in Western Europe (that is, the European Union), the concepts of becoming European have come under threat, it is precisely in the region of the Balkans that these concepts can be tested. I am suggesting that, in this space of conflicting events, emotions, and temporalities, European identity is being negotiated, as well as possibilities of coexistence. The Balkans have suffered the consequences of disintegration and, unlike Western Europe, are directed toward re‐integration and the re‐thinking of nationalism and xenophobia. Recent Croatian films point to a new phase in the recent Croatian history marked by a complex combination of experiences – post‐communism, post‐war traumas, and a striving for a complete transformation into a new (capitalist) system.

Lactic fermentation is the most natural way for foodstuffs to reach microbiological stability and prolonged shelf life. The purpose of this research was to screen a spontaneous lactic fermentation during the process of preserving the green olives of Oblica cultivar (the autochthonous Croatian cultivar) in the agriculture cooperative near Split (Croatia). Using API 50CHL and APILAB PLUS software, the species Lactobacillus curvatus was isolated and identified during the second week of the brining process. In the latter phase of the fermentation process, the presence of microorganisms belonging to this genus was not identified, which proves that spontaneous lactic fermentation in the process of preserving green olives of the Oblica cultivar had been incomplete. This was also proved by the values of fundamental physico-chemical features (low pH, high total acidity concentration, inadequate temperature). Presented results show the necessity of applying starter culture in the process of preserving green olives of the Oblica cultivar.