Nursing homes and long-term care institutions often need technological assistance because of the high ratio of low-functioning residents coupled with a shortage of caregivers. To explore the potential uses of emerging robotic technologies in nursing homes, we apply Forlizzi's concept of the product ecology and a user-centered design approach involving field observations and focus groups to understand what kind of robot design would be suitable for the nursing home context. Our results show that instead of robots replacing human labor, nursing home staff prefer robot assistants who fit into their work process. We also learned the most appropriate functions for robots in nursing homes were helping with minor tasks and encouraging social interaction among residents. Our study was performed in two nursing homes in Taiwan.

................................................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements. .............................................................................................................................. 4 List of figures. ...................................................................................................................................... 10 List of tables......................................................................................................................................... 12 Abbreviations. ..................................................................................................................................... 13

Abstract The main motive of business operations of any bank is to achieve the highest profit possible and utilise it to increase dividends to shareholders, as well as to create conditions to increase their financial and credit potential by reinvesting in shares. The most important quality indicator of a loan portfolio is the share of non-performing loans to total operating assets and liabilities. In the first quarter of 2013, a trend of increasing non-performing loans in the legal entities sector increased by 2.6%, while there was stagnation with the population, i.e. slight decrease. The main objective of this paper is to examine the impact of the global financial crisis on the movement tendency of non-performing loans in the banking market in B&H, and their interdependence with the movement of profitability indicators by a simple regression equation.

This study investigates knowledge on use of body extremities and body in space by children who are deaf or hard-ofhearing. A random sample of 60 participants was used in the study, with chronological age of 6 to 8 years. Experimental group of 30 participants involved pupils who are deaf or hard-of-hearing both male and female who attend school in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Control group of 30 participants involved pupils who are typically hearing both male and female who were chronologically matched to the participants in the experimental group. Measuring instruments were created for the purpose of extracting quantitative data analysis, scaled from 1 to 5 units of measurement. The results are showed significant differences between children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and children who are typically hearing (F=23, 08 p=0.00). The children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing showed significantly weaker knowledge of perception of body movements.

The aim of this study was to investigate consumers’ preferences of Livanjski cheese depending on the type of milk (cow’s milk or a mixture of sheep’s and cow’s milk) and the originality of production (farm or industrially produced). Also correlations between sensorial scores and the composition of Livanjski cheese were determined. Sixty day old Livanjski cheese samples produced on four family farms and under industrial conditions produced cheese were used for sensory evaluation. During the cheese sampling every producer was visited regularly (every two weeks) to evaluate the ripening conditions of the cheeses (temperature, relative air humidity and ventilation). Sensory evaluation was performed by 160 consumers and 6 experts. Cheese from farm 1 received the highest scores (P<0.05) in general and for every single attribute as well. The production of Livanjski cheese on farm 1 was distinct due to mixing sheep’s and cow’s milk (70:30 %) and due to good controlled ripening conditions (15-18 °C, relative air humidity 80-90 %, regular air ventilation). Sheep’s milk was an important factor for the higher scoring of Livanjski cheese. In opposite to the consumers’ preference, experts evaluated industrially produced Livanjski cheese with the highest score. Significantly high and negative correlations (P<0.05) between total solids of cheese and scores for taste and odour judged by experts were obtained. Moreover, significantly higher and negative correlations (P<0.05) between the total solids of cheese and all sensorial attributes were obtained by consumers. On the contrary, preserving factors i.e. higher salt content and acidity positively influenced the sensory attributes of Livanjski cheese.