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The change in technological area all over the world has changed the concept of information and communication. The use of internet for commercial purposes gave rise to the existence of the electronic commerce (e-commerce) phenomenon. Online shopping or e-shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser. The study focuses on the impact of hedonic and utilitarian motives on the consumers buying behaviour towards online shopping. Questionnaire was used to collect the primary data. The sample size of the study was 125 and the sample design adopted was convenience sampling. This paper tried to find out the impact of hedonic and utilitarian motive on the consumer buying behaviour towards online shopping and gives suggestions to improve the same.

The need to introduce a full-fledged land market is conditioned by the realities of today. Land, a significant component of the productive forces, is still not integrated into a civilized market exchange in Ukraine. The paper is devoted to the substantiation of the need to reform the agricultural land market in Ukraine. The state of the agricultural land market in Ukraine is analyzed. The author emphasizes that in this connection the creation and functioning of a civilized agricultural land market requires the strengthening of state regulation in this area. It can stop not only the agrarian crisis, but also the economic crisis in general. The main features of the land market in other European countries are described. The author emphasizes that the EU has vast experience in this area that Ukraine can use to reform the agricultural land market. The author emphasizes that before removing the moratorium a number of problems related to the introduction of the land market in Ukraine have to be solved.

The legal framework of the medical activity has evolved during the course of European law history together with the social and economic significance if these activities. In this paper, using predominantly the historical research method, we will examine some fundamental waypoints regarding the organization as legal persons of the institutions carrying out medical activities, which we generically call hospitals. Taking as a departure point the Roman era, we will discuss, using the modern optics in regard to the fundamental characteristics of a legal entity (own estate, discrete framework and specific purpose)the evolution of these legal persons with a medical purpose. Due to the limited extent of this paper, we will limit ourselves to the European legal space and to only a few of the significant evolutions in regard to the medical institutions with a legal personality.

Investigated mostly in a co-dependent relationship with its titular figure – E. Lovinescu (1881-1943), the Romanian literary circle Sburătorul has achieved a paradoxical position in the field of Romanian critical inquiry. On one hand, this particular group is an ever-present reference in research dedicated to the interwar Romanian literary modernist scene. On the other hand, only a few monographic works explore the actual dynamic of this group, and while they are well documented and multi-layered a lot of material remains yet to be explored. The Sburătorul Literary Journals (Sburătorul: Agende literare), kept by E. Lovinescu and subsequently edited and published posthumously by his daughter, Monica Lovinescu, are one of the most valuable yet underestimated bibliographical instruments in Romania. Owing much to this particular instrument, my paper aims to investigate the human resource of Sburătorul literary circle. The methodology of my paper stands at the intersection between network studies, distant reading, and sociology and within these theoretical frameworks I intend to explore the relationships and dynamics between the most active members of the group, in order to “measure” the symbolic capital of the group.

This paper is part of an ongoing research project that aims at identifying types of masculinities in Romanian socialist cinema, by using gender studies and other contributions on the topic of masculinity in order to provide a sociological reading of Romanian films made during the communist regime. I will look at the way in which Western understandings of masculinity have been transferred to Eastern European categories of masculinity in cinema and I will establish a critical framework for my analysis, with an introduction to studies on masculinity, and expand on elements of sociological and psychoanalytical works, namely major contributions from Connell (1987), Segal (2007) and Horrocks (1994, 1995). Two defining concepts in masculinity studies are hegemonic masculinity (Connell 1987) and homosociality (Bird, 1996), theories which will constitute the basis for my case studies in order to see if male characters in Romanian socialist cinema fit into this categorization. The last part of this paper will be an analysis of three films, Reenactment (Reconstituirea, Lucian Pintilie, 1968), 100 Lei (100 de lei, Mircea Săucan, 1973) and At the End of the Line (La capătul liniei, Dinu Tănase), in which the male characters exist outside society, they cannot conform to what is being required of them as socialist subjects. The purpose is to see how gender performativity plays a role in the relationship between men, with a focus on violence and how it is connected to a search for a father figure and male friendships.

This paper argues in favour of increasing the participation of developing countries in global value chains in services, given the facilities offered by digital technologies in trading services and the current global economic situation marked by the pandemic. The analysis highlights the increasing contribution of services in achieving the key economic development indicators, as well as in global value chains, the role of digital technologies in supporting the service components of global value chains and indicators for measuring the performance of global value chains of services. From the perspective of the possibility of obtaining net benefits from an increased participation of developing countries in global value chains in the growing service segments, the paper provides arguments to support economic policy decisions in these countries in favour of prioritizing the investments in human capital and the necessary technological infrastructure, as well as the reconsideration of regulations on foreign trade in services.

The nature of work is certainly changing, but from a historical perspective this is not new. The rate of change is faster today, and change is the rule not just an exception over time. This paper shows that an Internet-based business model is becoming more common, and this does not mean the end of organizational employment relationships, but supports the need for greater flexibility of jobs and workers. The study of work and employment, as well as the variability of wider environmental and contextual changes in the nature of paid work and employment relations, are relevant to the functioning of a modern economy. Providing an overview of key trends can help to understand the nature of labor relations in the modern economy. The paper presents examples of both change and continuity in the field of work relations.

In the Italian academic discourse research, Master’s degree theses used to be studied mainly from the perspective of linguistic competencies of their authors. However, strictly linguistic skills are not the only challenge for undergraduate, who must also convey intellectual content in appropriate discursive and rhetorical forms. The paper explores the patterns of a peculiar form of “collaborative writing”, i.e. the cooperation between the thesis supervisor and the student. Using the example of Master’s theses in linguistics, written in Italian as a foreign language, three basic didactic approaches are discussed in the paper. In the didactics of content the supervisors emphasize knowledge, i.e. linguistic concepts expected to be applied in a Master’s thesis. In the didactics of forms, the supervisors focus on the linguistic code, that is, on grammatical and lexical correctness of the Master’s thesis. In the didactics of forms of content the supervisors use regularities observed in academic discourse, such as genre and rhetorical structures, as valuable teaching resources likely to help students develop metacommunicative awareness.

Ball brooches make a difficult research theme in Denmark. This is mainly because very few of the hitherto published specimens were found in a context or under circumstances that help to shed light on their chronology. The most recently published study is a very brief paper by Jesper Laursen on the chronology and typology of ball brooches (Laursen 1984). Laursen’s paper was published at a time when hobby metal detecting was only at its early stages in Denmark. Therefore, this hobby had not yet had its impact on the material. Metal detecting favors objects with much metal and since cultivated soil contains a lot of iron waste most hobby detectorists tend to screen for iron. Consequently, objects of bronze, silver and gold will have a tendency to dominate the finds brought in by these people, and especially massive objects.

The aim of this paper was to identify the nature of hybrid threats posed by Russia in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, subsequently, to identify to what extent the Kremlin is successful in destabilising the political situation in this country. For this purpose, disciplined interpretative case study was employed. This study is primarily based on four expert interviews which were conducted in August 2021, in Sarajevo. The theoretical part of this study introduces the concept of hybrid threats. This concept is then applied to the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based on a comprehensive analysis, the authors were able to identify three areas where the Kremlin’s hybrid threats are the most significant. These are political and economic influence, information space and proxy organizations. This paper may contribute to the understanding of how Russia constructs its hybrid threats and may also lead to further research on hybrid threats in the Western Balkans.

This paper looks at the way the European Union has shifted its policymaking process to adapt to the crisis situation in Ukraine and how this serves the EU’s goal of increasing its geopolitical power, becoming a global geopolitical actor. Looking at the specific geopolitical dimensions, the paper argues that the EU has upgraded its geopolitical posture, through cohesive policies taken against the aggressor. Following close monitoring of the EU working sessions and the flow of news, and considering focused interviews on the future of the EU, given the current events, this research brings forth two main scenarios for the EU, commenting on the potential risks for the bloc’s unity considering the Russian aggression in Ukraine and beyond.

Information Technology (IT) is critical to strengthening corporate governance. Thus, organizations require a well-designed and implemented IT governance framework. This paper aims to evaluate the maturity level of IT governance in Saudi Arabia, via the COBIT IT governance framework. Three processes were investigated: defining a strategic IT plan; assessing and managing IT risks; and project management. A questionnaire was developed, based on the COBIT maturity model, and distributed among IT workers at different levels. Results demonstrate that the private sector is the most mature within the investigated areas; more development is required for the government sector and even the semi-government sector. The paper explores different points of strength and weakness in terms of IT governance maturity in different sectors. Moreover, it presents steps that may improve the IT governance maturity level in government and semi-government sectors. This could lead to more future research and investigation in different variables that may affect the development and maturity of IT governance.

The paper analyses the economic impact that the war in Ukraine has on the Romanian economy and the way citizens have acted when faced with a high rise in product prices. By exploring people’s behaviour, the essay finds that people did not only exhibit normally expected reactions, such as decreasing private consumption, but their actions were influenced by the ample spread of fake news and led to mass panic, queuing and buying large quantities of certain products which were erroneously believed to experience a sudden and sharp increase in price. The paper then examines potential aspects explaining why Romanians become victims of price-related disinformation, such as historical aspects, past experiences, their media diet, low trust in institutions, and the malign narratives circulating in Romania’s informational space.

Nicolae Milescu Spătarul, a scholar from Moldova (born in 1636), is known especially for his activity during the second half of his life, from his permanent relocation to Russia (1671) to the year of his death (1708). Within this interval, in which he served the Tsars’ interests as a translator at Posolski Prikaz, some sort of Ministry of External Affairs, he is sent by the Tsar Alexei Mihailovici with an embassy to the Emperor of China, thus becoming the first European scholar who travelled from Moscow to Pekin, crossing through Siberia. This paper is focused on the first half of his life, following, firstly, his studies at the Great School of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the education he received there, his relationships with the princes of Moldova, the relationships with other scholars from his time. Then follows his European journey: Berlin – Stettin – Stockholm – Paris, his relationship with the jansenists of Port Royal and the presentation of his work Enchiridion sive Stella Orientalis splendens Occidentali, in which he analyses a theological dispute that was of interest for the jansenists. The Enchiridion is made in Paris, in the year 1699, and is the first work published by a Romanian in the Occident. Our paper includes, for the first time integrally translated into Romanian, a few pages of correspondence, which illustrate, on one hand, the bond with the French ambassador of Stockholm and on the other, the accreditation of Milescu at the Court of Sweden as a representative of the former prince, Gheorghe Ștefan.

After his demise (in 2010), the philosophical works of Mihai Drăgănescu began to enter the attention of specialists from various backgrounds. His approach's incredible complexity and originality have been viewed and approached from various specific points of view until now. The aim of this paper is to present only a few essential features of the Drăgănescu philosophical approach as a whole, answering the following questions: (a) Is the model he recommended metaphysical, theological, or both? (b) How does the model highlight a certain Logos that becomes primordial in relation to the Being? (c) Why, quite unexpectedly, is the information considered a phenomenon? (d) How does the model he recommends solve some of the problems issued by Husserl and his phenomenology? In a forthcoming paper, we will try to show how Drăgănescu's Ontological-informational model allows a ChaOrdic application („Cha” from Chaos and „Ord” from Order) that characterizes the Reality of today when a natural Chaos appeared under which a new order emerges. Finally, our main conclusion will be that in relation to other similar attempts of recent times, which we know about, the approach of Drăgănescu presents strong originality by integrating the information with the ontological aspect. Furthermore, this confirms what our well-known Romanian philosopher Constantin Noica said a century ago: „Will the novelties of this work make their place in the world?” We should say that we do not doubt if we do not know the inertia that reigns in the world of culture. However, we will say that we do not know about a work that shakes this inertia better than the work of professor Drăgănescu. And if by impossibility it would not impose itself from now on in the culture of the twentieth century, let us be allowed to believe that it will astonish and deeply impress the non-perverted thinkers of the twenty-first century.

This paper examines the grammatical structure of Romanian/ English codeswitching in the speech of a ten-year-old bilingual child. The analyzed data set consists of single-word switches and phrases, the main focus of the paper being the morphological integration of these English elements in Romanian and the relations they establish with their larger syntactic environment. Using the principles of the Matrix Language Frame model developed by Myers-Scotton (2002, 2006), we show that the structural integrity of Romanian is maintained during codeswitching, and that the English material is used according to the rules imposed by the Romanian grammar. Although Romanian inflectional morphology is often absent on switched words and phrases, the placement of these elements in the grammatical frame of the sentence follows matrix language specifications and word order; moreover, function words in mixed constituents, such as determiners and prepositions, tend to come from Romanian.

As the European Union’s Strategy for people with disabilities has been extended to 2030, emphasising the need for these people’s social inclusion, which also comprises accessibility to different information and documents, Romania has to align its legislation and best practices in order to solve its problems concerning this topic. Therefore, this paper focuses on an important aspect of social inclusion, namely Easy-to-Read (E2R) language, which is paramount for the disabled people’s access to information, culture and education. It starts by presenting the concept of Easy-to-Read across Europe, its perception and implementation by various countries, to finally delve into the current situation of Easy-to-Read in Romania. By looking at the analysis and reports on the previous governmental strategies regarding people with disabilities (and especially reading disabilities, for the purpose of this paper), it can be said that Romania still faces challenges in this respect and needs to work on making documents and information accessible by first creating E2R guidelines and then implementing them in printed documents (e.g. adapted textbooks, healthcare leaflets) as well as in the electronic information (e.g. government websites). The paper also traces some future perspectives concerning Easy-to-Read in Romania, namely the Train2Validate “Professional training for Easy-to-Read facilitators and validators” (T2V) project, an Erasmus+ programme, a collaboration between various European countries, that Romania is part of, which goes one step further into helping people with reading disabilities and creating professional roles for them, i.e. facilitators and validators, in order to integrate them on the employment market. Moreover, this research will hopefully raise awareness of the importance of conducting other studies on creating Easy-to-Read guidelines and on simplifying the text according to the different target groups of people with reading disabilities or difficulties and to different text types.

In recent times, Indian ascetics have become pop icons due to the influence of visual entertainment media. Outside their country of origin, they are often negatively stereotyped to foster derogatory understandings of the Others and their cultures. In this paper, we will focus on representations of Indian ascetics. Starting with their early depictions in the memoir of the Transylvanian physician Dr Honigberger, we will examine their representations in Romanian newspapers and journals. In order to account for Romanian interest in ascetics from a faraway land, this paper will take into consideration the historical developments that led to the growth of European interest in them. Through a comparison between nineteenth century British (Osborne 1840) and East-European (Honigberger 1851, 1852) writings on Indian ascetics, we will try to understand whether conceptualization of Indian ascetics in Romanian-speaking territories differed in any way from that of the British colonizers in India. The paper will then move on to examine how the Romanian press conceptualized these ascetics. Evidences point to the fact that the Romanian press became interested in Indian ascetics, erroneously generalized as fakirs, from ca. 1900 to 1940. Analysing Romanian journal and magazine articles on Indian fakirs, which till now remain untranslated into English, this article will try to show how the Romanian press conceived of the ascetics of a faraway country. Our research methodology is based on text analysis, relying on a broader cultural perspective. For the purpose of this paper, we have selected a series of article samples, taking into consideration diversity in terms of regions (southern Romania and Transylvania), as well as the most relevant period (1906-1935). The interest in Indian sadhus and their doings basically emerged starting with the mid-nineteenth century. Yet over the following decades accounts have changed in terms of focus. While nineteenth century authors were primarily concerned with the physical aspects of their work, texts written in the first decades of the twentieth century suggest that journalists and writers generally looked at the more surprising and entertaining side of fakirs’ actions. Finally, the paper suggests why Romanian press lost interest in Indian ascetics after the 1940s.

This paper analyzes Scott Fitzgerald’s novels in light of Deleuze and Guattari’s critique of capitalism. While Deleuze and Guattari’s capitalist social machine is a break from Marxism, it decodes the traditions that define subjective desires or concepts like beauty and ethics. Under capitalism, subjective desire arises as a capitalist desire and reproduces the capitalist power. In his novels, Fitzgerald addresses the idea of the American dream in a similar way. His characters often embody the contradictions of American experience such as success and failure, dream and nightmare, illusion and disillusionment. This paper critically analyzes Deleuze and Guattari’s reading of desire within Marx’s work and the role of the American dream in a capitalist system as a sort of antiproduction. It seeks to illustrate how the concept of love in Fitzgerald’s novels is tied to the idea of money and how their connection delineates, in the same way, the commodification of the desire that Deleuze traces in his reading of Marx. Accordingly, this paper also argues that similar to philosophy, fiction can be employed to provide a better understanding of our represented world.

The present paper investigates variables affecting strategic learning of foreign languages. The theoretical approach starts from analyzing strategy classifications and evolves into highlighting the several factors that determine strategy use when learning foreign languages. Further on we investigate individual differences between learners, the learners’ personal experiences, situational and social factors, as well as affective factors and strategic competence. Having started from the theoretical premise that strategic learning is the superior approach to foreign language learning, the paper concludes that a successful learning experience is highly dependent on the language instructors’ understanding of the multitude of variables at play when it comes to learner strategy choice.

This paper discusses the use of African American Vernacular English as a literary dialect. The analysis is based on a corpus containing data collected from two 19th century American novels: ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ by Mark Twain and ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The speech of two characters of African American descent is under scrutiny: Jim and Aunt Chloe. The first part of the study provides an overview of the sociohistorical context in which AAVE originated and subsequently developed. The paper also highlights several morphosyntactic features attested in AAVE and the last part aims at identifying such features in the speech of the two African American characters aforementioned.

Teacher education programs have a long, perpetuated expectation for how to teach (Shulman, 1987). The overwhelming focus in teacher education programs on planning, instruction, and assessment obscures the ultimate goal of education; that is, to help every student become happy and lead a fulfilled life. This paper offers a perspective to cultivate preservice teachers who value humanity and therefore go beyond disciplinary knowledge and pedagogical practices. Humanity creates order in society, not arbitrary rules or authority. Yet, this aspect is often lost in higher education that focuses on professional skills over the cultivation of students’ humanity (Muscatine, 2009). We argue that teacher education needs to attend to humanity and pave the way for peace and happiness for human beings. Teachers’ roles are not just to deliver knowledge to students but to plant the seeds of hope and joy through education. To achieve this goal, we explored various humanistic approaches from Freire’s (1993) critical pedagogy, Valenzuelz’s (1999) subtractive schooling, Ginwright and Cammarota’s (2002) social justice approach, Comstock et al.’s (2008) relational-cultural theory, and Ikeda’s (2010) human education. This paper seeks to approach humanity as a theoretical and methodological basis for reclaiming the promise of teacher education.

Small and medium-sized enterprises in Romania, as well as those throughout the European Union, have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis has affected the HoReCa industry the most in the world, given that events and accommodations have been cancelled and restaurants closed. The main reason why this industry has suffered the most is the health regulations imposed by governments to limit the spread of the virus. This paper aims to make an analysis of 3 companies in this industry that are listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Thus, we will use time series data for the period 2009-2020 in the EViews econometric software. The purpose of the analysis is to highlight the economic shock caused by the pandemic, as well as the solutions found by these companies to overcome this crisis. Thus, we will use the net result as a dependent variable, and we will use income and expenses as independent variables. The paper indicates that small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of HoReCa in Romania have been severely affected by the pandemic crisis, due to lack of access to finance, high unemployment, and declining incomes.

Smart City’s role is to improve urban life through sustainable integrated solutions and address city-specific challenges in various policy areas, such as energy, mobility and transport, and ICT, which must also be effectively implemented. Smart City relies on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to sustainably develop urban spaces and limit the negative effects of urbanization. Globally, there is a trend to promote the concept of Smart City as a solution for urban areas in efficient and sustainable development, without affecting the environment. In Romania, Smart City has become a concern for local, urban and rural administrations, in the context in which at European level there are non-reimbursable funds for such projects. In Romania, Smart City and the projects that have the role of making an administration to be Smart are in their infancy. The purpose of this article is to highlight the advantages of Smart City development in urban administrations in Romania and the influence on the financial management of local authorities. Urban spaces in Romania face certain difficulties, both in terms of development (economic, infrastructure), but also pollution. The paper will highlight the stage of development of Smart City and how it influences the financial management of local governments, where such projects are implemented. The paper is descriptive, by correlating the information highlighted in the literature and data on projects submitted for Smart City by urban areas in Romania. The study analyzes the projects submitted by the main urban areas in Romania in 2020 for their development as Smart City, according to the website https://steinbeis-romania.com, thus highlighting the concern of local governments for their development as Smart City.

Nutrition concerns and food waste are a priority for the European Union, and the implementation of Green Pact policies is of major interest to all those involved in the food chain sector. The main purpose of this paper is to conduct an in-depth analysis of scientific production using bibliometrics, to understand the current structure of studies and future research directions on Green Deal policies in the food chain. 672 documents published between 2000 and 2021 were identified in the Web of Science database. Their scientific content was analysed using VOSviewer software on several levels: descriptive analysis, performance analysis, and scientific mapping from a conceptual, intellectual, and social perspective. In addition, to determine research gaps, the 10 most relevant and influential papers are analysed and synthesized. The most productive countries in terms of scientific output are Italy, India, and the USA, the peak being reached in 2021, and the main field approached is environmental sciences. Most of the articles analysed are reviews, highlighting gaps in primary research on Green Deal policies in the food industry. In this regard, several future research directions in the field are proposed

In each field there are works, monuments, and people with a reference role, which represent relevant elements in axiological analyses from that field. The marketing area benefits also from such landmarks, one of them being represented by Professor Iacob Cătoiu, DBA, author of numerous works, with a true vocation for teaching, doctoral supervisor, role model, whose activity has decisively marked this field. The book “About Marketing. Anthology” is a synthesis of the most important contributions of the author in the field of marketing. This paper is a very dense one, an aspect that derives from the depth of the analyses performed and from the author's ability to harmonize concepts belonging to other sciences (psychology, sociology, mathematics) with those related to the science of marketing. The book is also characterized by diversity, enlarging upon topics that address subjects such as: marketing research, consumer behavior, tourism marketing, marketing strategies, marketing modeling, and methods used in teaching the disciplines of marketing. The paper also has diversity in terms of the periods it refers to or the geographical areas analyzed.

This paper is devoted to the development of a decentralized control system design method with improved robustness, applicable to distillation columns control problem. The aim is attained by solving the following tasks: selection of representative models of columns; development of an effective transfer function identification algorithm; development of a decentralized controller design algorithm, which takes into account the cross-links impact; verification of the developed method for the selected models of columns. The most important result is the developed design method, which includes two algorithms. The first algorithm can be used to identify simplified models of the effective transfer functions. The second algorithm makes it possible to design a decentralized control system based on the ratio between the diagonals of the original model and effective transfer functions. Modified PI controller is used. The achievement of the distillation column control system robustness to the synchronous technologically conditioned deviation of the model parameters by up to three hundred percent of the nominal value is the paper signifi-cant result. The digital implementation of the designed controllers is simple. The analysis of the literature shows that none of the previously proposed methods for designing decentralized au-tomatic control systems solved such a problem. The efficiency of the developed algorithms is illustrated using the known models of dynamics of distillation columns. The analysis of limita-tions of the method as well as its significant differences to the Biggest Log Tuning and H∞ loop shaping methods is presented.

The paper aim was to study the normal functioning modes of consumers power supply by the distribution network, taking into account the electricity production using wind turbines, as well as to develop recommendations that allow optimizing power consumption modes. The goal was achieved by analyzing the initial information on the network section topology, the technical characteristics of linear and transformer equipment, as well as consumption and generation profiles. The most significant result of the paper was the determination of the fact that the connection of wind turbines according to the “install and forget” principle without prior justification of both connection place and wind turbine capacity often leads to significant change in the operating characteristics and additional technical losses of active power. In this case, the main part of the losses falls on power lines. The significance of the obtained results lies in the fact that the main problems, associated with the coordination of the operating modes of distributed generation facilities and load, were identified and possible technical solutions were proposed to improve the situation. Based on the obtained results it is possible to conclude that when connecting a wind turbine to a distribution network, it is necessary to take into account both the capacity and the installation location of the equipment, which significantly change the values of the operating parameters of electrical networks. It has been shown that use of energy storage devices, as well as the network reconstruction, can make it possible to minimize active power losses and carry out balance of regimes.

The paper presents the results of a series of investigations on the indirect chronovoltametric dosing of alkaline earth metals, carried out in the Laboratory of the Analytical Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry, currently called the Laboratory of Physicochemical Methods of Research and Analysis, conducted in 1971–1993 by the doctor of chemical sciences Ion Vatamanu. During the elaboration of the presented polarographic methods for determining the ions of alkaline-earth metals, a series of techniques were used to increase the sensitivity and selectivity of the determination. Based on two indirect polarographic methods for measuring alkaline earth metals, developed by Ion Vatamanu and coworkers and analyzed in this paper, two fundamental physicochemical principles were applied: (I) anion-induced adsorption of ligands adsorbed on the electrode surface and (II) thermodynamic determination of the optimal dosing conditions by calculating the conditional constants or the equilibrium chemical composition of complex reactant systems. The developed methods were used in the electrochemical analysis of standard alloy samples based on various metals, in the analysis of semiconductor systems, ferrous metals, nickel electrolytes, copper plating, cadmium plating, chromium plating, aluminum oxidation, wastewater analysis in galvanic baths, clays and limestones from Moldovan deposits, determination of pesticides, tanning extracts, dyes for the textile industry, etc.

The paper aims to study in an empirical manner the dimensions of religiosity in the last decade in Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) by analyzing the evidence of religiosity from the perspective of Norris and Ingelhart’ thesis that a key factor driving religiosity is represented by the feelings of vulnerability to physical, societal and personal risks. As such, the paper comprises (1) specifications on (a) religiosity and dimensions of religiosity, (b) the theoretical context and (c) historical context of religiosity after the Eastern Bloc’s destructuration, (2) evidence of religiosity – “believing and belonging” – and of patterns of religiosity in CEE countries.

Romania experienced a strong demographic decline during the three decades since the Revolution of 1989. However, this decline was not by all means geographically and historically invariable. Our paper focuses on a particular territorial subdivision of the country, namely the county of Sibiu, as a case study of a space that underwent rather a smaller decline and even experienced moments of growth. While we focus on the county scale, we also employ comparisons at other geographical scales. The analysis is developed around three main demographic aspects – total number of inhabitants, migration and indicators of natural growth. Our results display a demographic profile of the county which is strongly contingent across geography and history in all three demographic aspects. The demographic decline in Romania was steady and rather consistent throughout the three decades. Indeed, Sibiu county experienced also a decline during the first two decades, but displayed a pattern of growth during the last decade, mostly explained through the economic aspects, as the county is one of the country's most important growth poles. As showed in the paper, these evolutions were sustained by recent patterns of migration and natural population development in Sibiu that were more advantageous for population growth.

These days the environmental challenges begin to play crucial role in sustainable development of the countries and regions. European environmental policy aims in the creation of a favorable framework for the development of green entrepreneurship. The paper deals with the analysis of EU experience in supporting and promoting the green entrepreneurship. The author analyzed and systematized the EU trends in GHG emission. The main features and parts of the green economy are described. The author emphasizes that EU has the huge experience in the sphere of developing and providing relevant green activities, which can be used by Ukraine for implementation green entrepreneurship projects on the different levels of the economy. Thus, the green positive practices in Austria, Hungary, Ireland and Spain were described. The author underlines that green entrepreneurship for Ukraine is one of the necessary conditions for improving the environmental status, solving the problems with the rational use of natural resources, increasing the welfare of the citizen, integration into the European Union and to ensure the green of innovative development. The activities which are necessary for mainstreaming for Ukraine’s integrating to the European sustainable entrepreneurship space were considered.

This paper aims to discuss the digitalization of European listed companies in the context of the European Green Deal. The digital transformation can support companies in the field of corporate social responsibility, particularly in terms of environmental protection. Companies’ digitalization may have a beneficial impact by adopting ‘smart’ technologies that allow for the efficient use of natural resources and the reduction of pollution, enabling the transformation of business models into sustainable ones within the circular and digitized economy. Based on a large sample of companies listed on the main European Union financial markets, this paper aimed at analysing the extent to which digitalization efforts are part of the companies’ general tendencies of becoming good corporate citizens, especially in regard to environmental protection. The study also showed that digitalization efforts are rewarded in financial markets, with investors providing more capital to companies that digitize their activities and are more socially responsible.

Due to the technological changes that have occurred in the last years, Education 4.0, a new educational paradigm has emerged. Romania, as any other country in the world, will face some challenges in order to adapt to the new educational context. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of measures undertaken by our country in order to adapt to the changes. This paper relies on a theoretical study of the actions proposed by Romanian authorities. These actions will be analyzed in comparison with the regulations proposed by the European Union. Moreover, the study will focus on the degree of implementation of the actions and the perspectives our country has in order to meet the new global context. Overall, this paper contributes to the literature by placing Romanian education system in the new educational context brought to public attention by the Education 4.0 paradigm. In addition, it will find arguments in favor or against the alignment of our country with the new educational tends.

Internet commerce has become the frontier for businesses around the world. Traditional. The Internet's World Wide Web has become the prime driver of contemporary E-commerce. This paper presents a hierarchical framework of E-commerce development, as well as of analysis, range from the wide-area telecommunications infrastructure to electronic marketplaces and electronic hierarchies enabled by E-commerce. Several nodal problems are discussed that will define future development in E-commerce.

The following article deals with the main causes of irrational decision making process in companies and with respective solutions to make decisions more rational and effective. With the aid of relevant literature, the ways managers, groups and leaders make decisions in reality will be clarified. Besides, the solutions to rational decisions examined through the perspective of managers, leaders and groups. Thus, the background of this article is the question “Are companies in control of their own decisions?” In addition, this paper includes relevant information about the features of decision making process, basic types of decisions, describes the most essential approach in management regarding to decision making and presents the top worst and best business decisions of all time.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the collaboration that has been implemented in the curriculum as a cooperation management model to support campus performance indicators. Cooperation management uses the management functions introduced by Robbins et al., namely planning, organizing, operating, coordinating and evaluating. The case studies used in this research involve all study programs (N = 9) at the Faculty of Economics Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia. The data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of items focused on a differential semantic scale and qualitative responses to all items submitted at the time of the interview. This paper also reveals the dominant functions of cooperation management performed in the study program, namely: organization (8.00), planning (7.87), coordination (7.75), action (7.56), respectively evaluation (6.96). The function of the actuating and evaluation components is a severe concern for campus leaders. Flexibility and commitment to fund management support is essential for existing collaborations and plans for cooperation on strategic objectives. The implications of the study's findings - the model of industrial cooperation to strengthen collaboration between the two sides will serve for the future.

This paper examines the cinematographic reworking of memory spaces associated with power relations and structural injustice. The way in which space is represented and used as a medium that reflects power relations allows to question the space itself in cultural productions from Central-Eastern Europe when associated with Romani people (space and power relations, memory of slavery and discrimination, space and freedom, territoriality, space and its inhabitants, non-belonging, segregation, etc.). The paper focuses on motion pictures produced in the last decade in Romania, a prolific period due to the increasing interest for memory activism and to the multiplication of the cultural exploration of challenging topics. It aims to identify narrative, visual, and aesthetic expressions used as deterritorialization practices to stimulate relational remembrance and engagement with ongoing social inequality and structural injustice. Two short films – Alina Șerban’ s Bilet de iertare (Letter of forgiveness) and Adrian Silișteanu’s Scris/Nescris (Written/Unwritten) – and a western type film – Radu Jude’s Aferim!, winner of the Silver Bear for Best director at Berlinale in 2015, are analysed here.

This paper deals with political (in)correctness in translation. The primary purpose of our paper is to emphasize the politically correct notions recommended or contraindicated in the Glossary of Sensitive Language for Internal and External Communications (PE, 2020). We examine the equivalence of official versions into French and Romanian in order to understand how words that have become politically correct are substituted by politically in.correct notions.

The author underlines the importance of linguistic competencies and of encyclopedic knowledge for the translation of Common Law sales contracts. Based on the principles of the Interpretive Theory of Translation and emphasizing its relevance and originality in the field of Translation Studies, the paper states that translation is a cognitive act, whose success depends on specific mechanisms implemented by the translator. Translating means interpreting the original meaning and constantly resorting to the cognitive context and baggage, as illustrated in the applicative section of the paper.

As the world economy is confronted with the urgency of climate change, the emergence of new technologies and a redefinition of the balance of power, one of the areas that attracts more and more interest is that of the hydrogen-based economy. The paper proposes a classification of participants into 4 categories and analyses their current and announced strategies and actions related to the utilization of hydrogen in economy. At the same time, the paper offers some arguments in relation to the complementary nature of electrical battery and hydrogen-based utilizations in economy. The global distribution of the key players reflects an important asymmetry and supports the idea of the emergence of a new type of balance of power and of international relations which will translate into a new geopolitical map of the world. In this context, the European Union emerges as one of the main participants in the energy transition towards the goal of net zero carbon emissions in 2050 and even if there are great differences in the degree of preparedness among the member states, the conclusion is that all of them should participate at the earliest stage possible.

The current paper establishes a rapid, real-time algorithm for the synthesis of the reaction matrices used by compensators that reduces multivariable linear systems to extended systems that are cyclical. Thus, the driving of the extended systems (original multivariable system plus compensator) is reduced to a reaction that depends on the outputs and a set of references calculated by the proposed algorithm. The algorithm derives the structure of the compensator and the values of its components (amplifiers and integrators) as well as the values of the references. The paper is divided into two main sections: the derivation of the algorithm and the description of the program.

The aim of this paper is to analyze and evaluate three different forms of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques under standard and various atmospheric conditions. In the literature, different MPPT methods are proposed and studied by researchers, let us quote the well known Perturb & Observe (P&O), the incremental conductance, fuzzy logic based MPPT, neural networks based MPPT,etc. The major drawback found is the effectiveness of these techniques under sudden variations in weather conditions such as irradiance and temperature. Another drawback of some MPPT techniques is the response time which is important to achieve the optimum power value. In this sense, optimization of P&O method becomes the objective of our work, to track the point of maximum power in a photovoltaic system under different weather conditions. In this paper, we will improve the P&O technique which makes it possible to react quickly to sudden changes in solar radiation and to follow the maximum power point with very low oscillations. The main idea is to use a PID regulator to make the voltage of the PV panel much closer than the MPP voltage, this method is named indirect P&O. The simulation based comparative study showed that the MPPT indirect P&O technique led to better performance.

The present paper is focused on a peculiar, less known to the general public, aspect of Petre Andrei’s biography and activity, namely his involvement in the interwar Romanian Freemasonry. Initiated on 4-th November 1930 Petre Andrei was member in the “Moldova” Lodge in Iasi. His Mother Lodge kindled the Lights in the same year, in February, and so becoming the fifth Lodge in the former capital city of Moldova. After a brief biographical survey, the paper deals with few general aspects concerned Freemasonry and its Romanian historiography in order to better understand the place and role played by this modern fraternal association in the social life of the country. Discussing the values and principles promoted by Petre Andrei as scholar and also a politician one can observe the striking similarities with those endorsed by Freemasonry. The paper used archive materials and also fragments from his published works. In conclusion I stress one more time on the fact that modern democratic values represented the core of Petre Andrei’s beliefs and they also represented pillars of the masonic credo.

This study provides an overview of the current use of e-voting in local elections around the world. A specific objective of this paper is to identify whether the use of electronic voting in local elections leads to an increase in voter turnout. The study considers 7 countries where e-voting is allowed or where pilot projects have been implemented, and the results are mixed. The paper highlights the need for further research in this area, as increased turnout in local elections could mean more legitimacy for those to be elected and run local government, while the effect of decreased turnout would prove the limited usefulness of e-voting as it is used in its current forms.

This paper explores the significance of the true and fair view, as the main objective of financial reporting to which accounting principles are subordinated, and the relationship between it and all accounting principles, focusing on identifying their contribution to achieving the true and fair view and, simultaneously, the potential conflicts. To address this issue, several interpretations of the true and fair view objective were analyzed together with the way the requirements of each accounting principle contribute to the achievement of this objective. The paper highlights that the true and fair view recipe involves contributions such as aggregating values from different reporting periods, separately reflecting assets and liabilities to prevent hiding part of a company’s wealth or masking the risks that the company is facing, accurate, neutral and free from error/omission representation of transactions, establishing an acceptable materiality level that does not allow information to be over contracted or overcrowded with insignificant details, reflecting the economic substance of the transaction instead of the legal one, a realistic and balanced estimation of the risks and value losses, the presentation of past rights and obligations without being limited by their effective settlement date.

The following paper aims to briefly address one of the most pressing issues arising in connection with the criminal liability of the legal person, namely the determination of its form of criminal intent, with reference to the relationship between the criminal intent of the legal person and that of the individual along with the provision of aspects to be taken into consideration when analyzing such elements. At the same time, the paper draws attention to the risks to which the legal person may be exposed if it does not fulfill its control and supervision obligations.

Economic growth and development have direct impact on environment. In this matter, the concerns about the protection of the environment of the European Union have increased over time. The paper represents an analysis regarding the accessing of European non-reimbursable funds allocated for environmental policy in the period 2014-2020. European non-reimbursable funds represented the main instrument for financing environmental policies, and accessing them is important for meeting environmental objectives of our country. The paper analyzes the accesses of European funds by counties, being important, esspecially as Romania is in the period of transition to the new policy for the period 2021 – 2027 and to meet the objectives of the Strategy for smart, sustainable growth. and favorable to inclusion in the European Union

The right to freedom of movement and residence is a twin right granted to Nigeria citizens in the Constitution. We are examining this right with Fulani herdsmen as the focus. Fulani herdsmen have recently become a terror group in Nigeria. The hitherto frequent minor clashes between herders and farmers have become escalated and universal in Nigeria. What was limited to the North central has been spread to every State in Nigeria. While Nigerians in the Southern part are complaining about the phenomenon and its implications on food security in Nigeria, the Fulani herdsmen and their umbrella organization Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore are making provocative statements that they own Nigerian land and that nobody can stop them from grazing their cattle on any land throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria. It is in the light of their assertion that this paper is put together in order to confirm or debunk their assertion that they have an unrestricted or unrestrictable right to graze anywhere in Nigeria. This paper is concluded by stating contrary to their assertion, that the Fulani herdsman and indeed any Nigerian does not have the absolute right to movement or residence in Nigeria. The right to freedom of movement and residence in Nigeria is restricted by the Constitution, Common Law, and other Statues in Nigeria.

The early Upper Palaeolithic marks the introduction at a continental scale of a fully-fledged laminar industry, and it is associated with the presence of Homo sapiens in the Near East and in Europe. For this period there are three commonly recognised early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplexes : the Early Aurignacian and the Protoaurignacian, in Europe, and the Early Ahmarian, in the Levant. They have been used to illustrate different dispersal routes and behavioural adaptations to climate change, different regional settings or to infer different land-use and mobility strategies. Still, there is no consensus on the criteria for assigning one lithic assemblage to a particular early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplex. The early Upper Palaeolithic assemblages from Banat are among those showing ambiguous results when observed through the current taxonomical lens. This paper evaluates the taxonomical stances comparing technological raw data from extensively published early Upper Palaeolithic sites in Europe and the Levant. The comparison of assemblages attributed to different technocomplexes reveals a much more homogenous picture than expected. Various behaviours that are ascribed to a particular technocomplex are widespread in others too, but they are overlooked because of unclear and non-standardised terminology. The present paper shows that trying to fit the archaeological record in abstract, short definitions leads to misunderstandings, with clear implications on the further conclusions made on human past behaviours. It further advocates for creating new shared criteria for analysing lithic assemblages and thus overcoming the taxonomical impasse