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The ongoing transformation of the fashion industry is driven by an increasing focus on sustainability, ethical practices, and responsible consumer behavior. Simultaneously, social media platforms have emerged as influential forces in this field, shaping fashion trends and consumer preferences. Despite a substantial body of literature investigating consumer preferences between fast and sustainable fashion, a gap in understanding the intricate relationship between fashion preferences, socio-economic profiling, and social media engagement is evident. Thus, this research was aimed at comparatively decoding EU consumers’ preferences for fast fashion against sustainable fashion by exploring the interplay of demographic factors ‒ age, gender, and geographical location ‒ on fashion preferences, as expressed through the digital engagement with fashion-related content on the Meta social platforms. The research methodology implied resorting to logistic regression analysis, aiming to uncover the underlying patterns that fundamentally characterize consumers’ preferences for fashion in the EU. The results provide novel insights into how digital engagement with fashion-related content can act as a barometer for regional fashion identities and preferences, useful for the identification of both convergence and inflection points. Moreover, findings offer a robust foundation for crafting strategies that promote sustainable fashion practices, tailored to specific EU age, gender, and location demographics, by leveraging the insights gained about EU consumer preferences.

This paper presents a bibliometric analysis focused on the research domain of school dropout. Over the course of time, nations across the globe have come to acknowledge the significance of this phenomenon and have made concerted efforts to gain deeper insights into it, with the aim of mitigating the associated risks. Consequently, it has become evident that the origins of this phenomenon can be traced back to a child’s formative years, and, once identified, it can be ameliorated through the implementation of an array of mitigation strategies. Therefore, the principal objective of this paper is to navigate the body of work published in connection with the school dropout phenomenon, shedding light on the research community’s interest in this subject. Our investigation was inaugurated by assembling a comprehensive dataset encompassing 1,592 papers sourced from the ISI Web of Science database, spanning the years from 1976 to 2022. Notably, the research community has exhibited a significant level of engagement with this research area, as evidenced by a robust annual growth rate of 11.14%. To uncover emerging research trajectories, we conducted an exhaustive examination of keyword usage. Moreover, we explored into the complex web of collaborative relationships among authors, identifying the most prolific contributors to this field. Furthermore, we conducted a thorough analysis of the most salient papers within this domain, and, for enhanced elucidation, we have presented a review of the top-10 most cited works, thereby spotlighting the prevailing research directions that have captured the attention of scholars hailing from diverse corners of the world. The results of our analysis reveal a burgeoning global interest in the school dropout phenomenon over time.

This article provides an account of the transformational capacity of Romanian public administration in relation to four main aspects: (1) human resource performance and integrity; (2) territorial, functional and institutional decentralization; (3) public policies and (4) capitalizing on the digital and innovative component. The Romania case study highlights the gradual transformation of public administration in the last 30 years, as a reaction to the emergence of economic, social and political crises. For an imperative and irreversible change, we have identified directions for capitalizing on opportunities and good practices in the matter, in the context of the intensified integration process in NATO and the EU. We have analyzed the strategic documents on strengthening and accelerating the transformation of public administration and highlighted the need for the interconnection and interdependence of its four pillars to meet the specific objectives of Horizon 2030. For decision-makers, practitioners and researchers, this article aims to stimulate and contribute to the dedicated public debate and consultation of coherent, predictable and sustainable legislation and practices in the matter.

The article aims to conduct an analysis regard­ing the professional training process of the public personnel from the Romanian public administration, in the 2020-2022 period. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the field of professional train­ing has experienced a series of emerging changes, that had a major impact on the management of the professional training, in general, and training pro­cesses, in particular.The research method used consists of an opin­ion survey, conducted with the self-administered questionnaire, designed by the authors, based on the main studies and researches in the field. The ques­tionnaire was sent to public institutions in the cen­tral public administration, under the subordination/coordination of ministries. 239 respondents agreed to participate in the study.The research revealed that the public personnel from public administration prefers the professional training process to be conducted in the classical and mixed systems (blended learning). In addition, benefits of the training process in the online system which can be developed, in order to optimize this type of training, were identified.

This present research brings into focus the figure of the prefect and wojewód seen at the crossroads between career public servants representing the interests of the Government and political agents, appointed and dismissed at the whim of the Prime Minister. This paper approaches the issue of the holder of the prefect’s office in Romania and Poland employing a prosopographic analysis and applies a Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) on select items in order to identify the general trend and particularities of their profiles. This institution was structured and articulated at the confluence of some administrative and political actions and integrated in the national institutional framework as a key actor, which continues to connect the institutional capacity of the state and the political capacity of the Government. Moving beyond the legal framework and institutional design of each country, we look at the profile – involving educational, professional and political affiliation – of the people actually appointed to this position in order to ascertain the weight of each of these factors when called to serve in office.

The ongoing transformation of the fashion industry is driven by an increasing focus on sustainability, ethical practices, and responsible consumer behavior. Simultaneously, social media platforms have emerged as influential forces in this field, shaping fashion trends and consumer preferences. Despite a substantial body of literature investigating consumer preferences between fast and sustainable fashion, a gap in understanding the intricate relationship between fashion preferences, socio-economic profiling, and social media engagement is evident. Thus, this research was aimed at comparatively decoding EU consumers' preferences for fast fashion against sustainable fashion by exploring the interplay of demographic factors ‒ age, gender, and geographical location ‒ on fashion preferences, as expressed through the digital engagement with fashion-related content on the Meta social platforms. The research methodology implied resorting to logistic regression analysis, aiming to uncover the underlying patterns that fundamentally characterize consumers' preferences for fashion in the EU. The results provide novel insights into how digital engagement with fashion-related content can act as a barometer for regional fashion identities and preferences, useful for the identification of both convergence and inflection points. Moreover, findings offer a robust foundation for crafting strategies that promote sustainable fashion practices, tailored to specific EU age, gender, and location demographics, by leveraging the insights gained about EU consumer preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores, in a comparative manner, the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States. Using a specific methodological toolkit that combines policy and statistical analysis for each EU Member State, this article evaluates the investments in the digitalization of public services, the use of broadband, the access to digital public services, the number of e-government users, the level of digital public services for citizens and businesses and open data. In our analysis, we will argue that the gaps and discrepancies in the field of digitalization of public administration, correlated with the indicators monitored in the Digital Economy and Society Index, have conditioned the EU Member States to design specific actions, measures and investments related to the national context. Points for practitioners The gaps and discrepancies concerning the digitalization of public administration are analyzed and evaluated in relation to the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States, correlated with the objectives and funding allocated to the digitalization pillar of the NRRP. The digitalization gap is measured by identifying and evaluating quantifiable indicators. Evaluations regarding the pillar of the digital transformation of public administration at national and regional levels are available, allowing comparative analyses to be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European agriculture is the result and experiences of a numerous and md determinant reforms during last period of time. Labor productivity and green gas emissions represents two major turning points in analyzing the Common Agricultural Policy evolution. The main aim of this research is to make a synoptic analysis of the agriculture evolution in context of the new Common Agricultural Policy paradigm transformation from the perspective of sectorial structural changes determined by the new environmental exigencies and labor productivity.

The present research is an exploratory study aiming at presenting the measures taken by the European Union to support the creation and development of clusters and to analyze Romania’s position in relation to other Member States in terms of key factors impacting cluster development. Impact factors on the development of clusters, such as digital skills among the active population, the degree of development of innovative companies, the number of applications for obtaining patents per one million inhabitants, the degree of development of clusters and the share of GDP in expenditures for research, development and innovation (%) were considered. The study highlights that Romania ranks last in the European ranking, due to the lack of incentives to promote the emergence of strong innovative clusters, underfunding of the innovation system and the absence of a legislative framework to support small and medium enterprises.

The early 2000s brought over an intrinsic change in the way businesses operate. Many organizations experienced a fundamental transformation in the way people connect, work and co-create value for the business and the wider scope of stakeholders. This transformation was supported by the rapid development and implementation of collaborative technology, as well as by a major metamorphosis of working styles: remote work (tele-work), alternative employment, dual carriers (double employment) and many others. Corporate Japan has also experienced a major shift from the traditional physical office-based, life-time employment to a wide variety of working agreements and collaboration styles. This paper analyzes how digital technology has eased cross-divisional collaboration and value co-creation at NTT Communications, a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Corporation, the largest telecommunications company in Japan.

The civil servants’ training process plays a key role in developing the public employees’ skills and broadening their vision. The present paper seeks to examine the perception of Em­ployment Agencies’ civil servants regarding the effectiveness of training programs, measured through their impact on the number of projects initiated and implemented under Sectorial Oper­ational Programme for Human Resources Devel­opment 2007-2013. The role of training programs in enhancing civil servants’ innovation capacity is also investigated. The methodology consists in an analysis of 253 projects financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) during 2009-2015 and an empirical research using a representative sample of 337 civil servants who attended EU funded training courses in project management. The conclusions of this paper indicated a direct relation between the number of projects developing training cours­es in ‘project management’ and the number of projects initiated and implemented annually by the territorial Agencies for Employment. More­over, a positive correlation between the training programs and the innovation capacity of civil servants from County Agencies for Employment was also identified.

As the impact of the global financial economic crisis of 2007/2008 diminished and the world economy began to recover, policymakers started to look towards new ways of attaining prosperity through sustainable, equitable and robust economic growth. To achieve this desiderate, the financial system (as the main provider of financial capital) had to fully embrace sustainability practices and integrate them in all its internal processes. Within the financial system, the banking sector is undoubtedly the main player. As such, banks also had to join the sustainable development wave. Hence, ‘green banking’ is becoming a central focus point for many researchers and practitioners as they provide various interpretations of the concept and highlight the best practices. The aim of this paper is twofold: to identify the role of financial regulation and regulators (mostly, Central Banks) in harnessing Green Banking and to determine the involvement of banking institutions in fostering Green Banking. It begins with unpacking the ‘Green Banking’ concept by revealing the most relevant (from a theoretical standpoint) and practical (considering its applicability in the real economy) approaches to date, in order to better grasp and fine-tune its meaning. After analysing qualitatively and critically the most important research papers and institutional reports to date, the paper provides the reader with the essential toolkit for moving forward with a more in-depth investigation on Green Banking.

Environmental protection is one of the core societal issues that the European Union has taken the global lead in tackling. In doing so, it relies not only on macro instruments (such as Environmental Action Plans or Multilateral Environmental Agreements), but also on national and micro-level partners (such as local administration, businesses, civil society and individual citizens). The current paper seeks to collect and disseminate ideas on solving ardent environmental issues, as they are expressed in a focus group involving students with diverse academic backgrounds (but specialized in the study of EU integration and environmental policies). The results suggest that pollution problems are significantly more present in urban areas of Romania and that the respondents were better acquainted of environmental problems that they face in their day-to-day lives. “Education” and “Public administration” proved to be the two central pillars on which innovative solutions for environmental problems could be designed and successfully implemented, in the views of the respondents.

In addressing the critical interplay between market dynamics and food security within Romania's swine meat market, amidst evolving economic and social challenges, the research aimed to elucidate the roles of elasticity dynamics and trade balance performance in ensuring a high food security level. Utilizing data from 2011 to 2022, the analysis employed key elasticity metrics--price elasticity of demand (PED), income elasticity of demand (IED), factor elasticity of demand (FED), and income elasticity of the swine meat trade balance's deficit (IET)--to dissect the complex interactions configuring demand, supply, and international trade dependencies. The methodology was grounded on quantitative analyses, contrasting year-over-year and base-year elasticities to capture both immediate and longitudinal market responses to socio-economic stimuli. This detailed approach uncovered pertinent findings: despite general price inelasticity in swine meat demand, significant fluctuations in response to income changes and production factors were observed, with 2015 marking a year of heightened sensitivity due to external factors like the African swine fever outbreak. This study underscores the imperative of leveraging elasticity analyses to inform the development of agricultural policies aimed at enhancing domestic production, managing trade deficits, and ultimately reinforcing Romania's food security socio-economic infrastructure against the backdrop of global market volatilities and domestic supply constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of digital technology in agriculture, such as sensors, satellites, and artificial intelligence, for developing sustainable agriculture and controlling the impacts of climate change, has been enhanced under the European Green Deal. Given the environmental exigencies, the agricultural sector must adapt to new technologies that ensure the sustainable development of the whole agri-food sector. This paper emphasizes the importance of measuring carbon footprints in agriculture as a tool for further improving the sustainability of the sector. Specifically, the research addresses the importance of sustainable technologies and practices, including agriculture, circular economy, and conservation agriculture, which play an important role in reducing carbon emissions from the agricultural sector. Thus, in the framework of the European Green Deal and digitalization, a bibliographic analysis was carried out using the Web of Science database to review the scientific interest on carbon footprint generated by farms. The aim of the paper is to tackle the significance given by the scientific community on the carbon footprint of farms in order to enhance the development of a comprehensive set of measures that can incorporate the sector's social and environmental responsibility, and ensure further the right path towards a sustainable future without affecting the profitability of the small farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has always been at the forefront of tackling environmental issues. This paper responds to the EU‟s „call for action‟ towards addressing the issue of climate change – a key priority for the European Commission in the 2030 policy perspective. The topic is addressed through a focus group that seeks to identify and disseminate possible approaches through which the EU can leverage its international „actorness‟ in negotiating a straightforward and binding global agreement for action in climate change mitigation. The focus group involves a sample of students, beneficiaries of an environmentally focused Jean Monnet teaching module (TAG-EU). The diverse academic background of the students (coming from social, natural and exact sciences) provides a unique point of view in tackling this ardent issue and can bring valuable and interdisciplinary contributions to the discussion on climate change action.

An instrument that political parties use to inform the electorate with regard to their policy preference (including preference towards the environment) is the electoral manifest. This paper analyses some important drivers that push political parties towards adopting pro-environmental attitudes by analysing the content included in their electoral manifestos (using the Comparative Manifesto Dataset). As explanatory factors we consider various socio-economic, ideological and international related variables, but our main focus is on environmental related determinants. We proceed as such because the paper aims to test the validity of ‘the ecological approach’ given that the current literature overlooks this issue or doesn’t succeed in providing strong evidence of its existence. Our dataset covers 49 countries worldwide and a total of 190 national electoral years, occurring between 2000 and 2015. The resulting evidence, which might confirm the validity of ‘the ecological approach’, is rather weak, but there is nonetheless strong evidence to prove the existence of an opportunistic behaviour of the political parties (confirming the validity of the ‘opportunistic political cycle’).

Research background: Technological changes are one of the reasons for the resizing of jobs. Demographic change is affecting the labour market, both locally and regionally. Thus, together with technological changes, they lead to changes in the level of education of graduates. The process is accentuated by globalization. There are changes in the labour market that require people with higher skills. Purpose of the article: For Romania, the analysis of the level of education of graduates at regional level, depending on the county, is presented in this article. In the paper, depending on the level of education, the evolution at county level of the number of graduates is presented. At the same time, the evolution of the total number of graduates for the levels of primary-secondary, vocational, high school, post-high school education, respectively for the level of university education, is analyzed. Methods: Thus, following the analysis, it is observed that, at national level, the number of graduates decreased. Also, for certain levels of education and only for some counties, the number of graduates has increased. Findings & Value added: The radiography performed is important for the regional needs’ analysis of the labour market. Thus, following the analysis, it was found that most graduates of tertiary education are from university centers: Bucharest, Cluj, Iași, Timiș. Graduates with a high level of knowledges, skills, and competencies have higher opportunities and abilities to identify and occupy a job.

Research background: In the context of globalization, education processes are of great importance for the development of urban communities. Identifying the needs of the labour market should be the goal of any organization that provides education and training. Purpose of the article: Globalization leads to the emergence of new specializations and qualifications. In order to facilitate the acquisition of competencies and abilities specific to new qualifications and specializations, it is necessary to involve education and training providers. Methods: The article analyses the evolution of the employment rate, respectively of the unemployment rate. Urban communities need to respond to new societal, economic and environmental challenges. Findings & Value added: One of the major problems of urban communities is the risk of poverty and social exclusion. Thus, for the Member States of the European Union, the article presents the comparative situation of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion. For the Member States of the European Union, the evolution of the participation rate in education and training programs is followed in this article. The article also presents an analysis of the level of education of the urban population. Due to urban concentrations, the launch of new products and services is much easier.

Since the launch of the Eastern Partnership and up to the latest Summit, in May 2015, notable progress has been registered within the framework in various areas, especially in issues related to climate change, environment and energy. Nevertheless, significant environmental problems still linger and require urgent tailor-made solutions. The paper seeks to highlight the environmental status quo as well as the main environmental challenges that the six Eastern European partner countries are faced with, in the context of their intention of alignment to the EU environmental requirements. An understanding of how environmental protection is tackled within these countries may help identify specific models of action for approaching environmental degradation and climate change issues in Eastern Europe. Furthermore, the pressing nature of some environmental problems emphasized here may encourage policy makers to take specific actions towards reversing the troubling trends in environmental degradation and building a healthier society.

Romanian environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGO) have to deal with a lot of issues when performing their activities, related in general to their form of organization, financial capacity, unspecialized workforce, over bureaucratic administration, political parties’ unwillingness to cooperate, or mass-media’s general indifference. Moreover, most public representatives (e.g., political parties) seldom (or never) ask for the ENGOs’ opinions when designing environmental policies. Within this context, this paper aims to map the most important issues or challenges (in terms of financial capacity and with regard to the public sphere) that Romanian ENGOs have to deal with. The methodological approach is a mixed one (having a qualitative as well as a quantitative component). The study embodies a questionnaire based survey applied on 48 Romanian ENGOs. Unfortunately, the instability of financial resources still tops the Romanian ENGOs’ list of issues. Moreover, the data reaffirmed the indifference of the majority of Romania’s political parties towards protecting the environment (leaving ENGOs out of the political decision making process).

Measuring a country’s welfare and subsequently ranking it with respect to other states isbecoming increasingly popular and also useful. In spite of the diversified portfolio of indicatorsavailable to assess a country’s welfare, not all of them look towards the community, a sustainablefuture and the environment. An interesting question arises: to what extent do the most importantwelfare indicators account for the environmental component? This study aims to critically analysethe most important welfare indicators from an environmental perspective so as to identifyappropriate tools for measuring the sustainable welfare of a country.

Currently, more than half of the world’s population is living in urban settlements and by 2030 this proportion will rise to two thirds. The process of urbanization is even more pronounced in developing countries (including in some EU countries). Apart from the cultural, social, economic or political changes that cities foster in their expansion process, urbanization has a major impact on the present and future state of the environment. The complex environmental impact of cities requires a cross-cutting and interdisciplinary research approach and an in-depth assessment. A stepping stone in such an investigative venture is a bibliometric analysis of existing literature on the topic of “environmental impact of cities”. This would serve in identifying gaps, understanding the focus and gauging the level of knowledge on the subject. Moreover, the study seeks to raise awareness regarding the limited body of literature originated in the EU member states (most works addressing the topic originate in America and Asia).