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In the paper, special attention is paid to the sources that lead to soil and land degradation in Valea Jiului, as these are the components of the environment that are most affected by mining activities. Three sources of pollution are analyzed: dumps, mine yards and constructions, and mining and preparation activities chemically polluting of soil. Among the environmental changes, land degradation currently has the most important consequences for human settlements and economic activities, especially through induced subsidence processes and the presence of dumps with reduced stability. The authors of the article propose their own method for establishing a Global Land Degradation Index (GLDI) affected by mining activities in a mining perimeter (mine) taking into account the entire analyzed area (in our case Valea Jiului) and make a classification (in three classes) of this index.

The paper aims to establish the design elements of the tunnels to be executed on subsection E2 of the Lugoj-Deva highway section, an integral part of the A1 highway. From the multitude of problems related to the execution of a tunnel, the paper investigates the following aspects: geotechnical investigations of the areas to be crossed by tunnels, analysis of tunnel stability, static checks of the final support/lining and, finally, a possible technology for their execution.

In this article an impact assessment is carried out, generated by activities in the energy sector related to Rovinari mining area. Energy-related activities in this area are carried out by open pit mining activities in the context of Tismana, Roșia, Pinoasa, Peşteana and Rovinari locations and Rovinari thermal power plant. Some information that has formed the input for the author’s approach has been provided by SC. Complexul Energetic Oltenia SA (CEO) and S.C. Institute of Scientific Research, Technological Engineering and Mine Designs on Lignite S.A. Craiova (ICSITPML) which has been processed, analysed and used for the presented environmental impact assessment. Two methods from specialized studies have been used for the impact assessment, namely: the Matrix Method for Rapid Impact Assessment (MERI) and the Method for Integrated Quantitative Impact and Risk Assessment of Environmental Pollution (EIRM). Based on the analysis carried out, it can be concluded that the activity in this sector does not lead to significant negative effects strictly associated with it.

The technological ascension represents one of the main phenomena encountered by today’s society, influencing almost every field of activity of the modern world. In fact, technology has become part of our daily life, whether we refer to active participation in society, learning, work, or other activities. In order to gain a favorable position compared to other states considered as global powers, the European Union is constantly striving to advance in various fields, placing special importance on the digitalization of the Member States. In addition to the technological side, the process of digitalization takes place with and through the human factor. Thus, we are concerned with the human capital and its digital competences, as their deficiency or absence can have negative effects both on the general life chances of citizens and on the digital progress of EU Member States. Romania is striving to make the most of the digital revolution, the possibilities and benefits offered by it, trying to contribute to the digital progress of the European Union and to consolidate its position among the other Member States. However, given the aforementioned issues, it is natural to wonder if citizens’ skills support the digitalization process or represent a shortcoming in this regard. Thus, the fundamental purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the digital competences of Romanian citizens, dealing with aspects such as the evolution of the last years and the current status related to the analyzed phenomenon.

Content Analysis, which is a part of qualitative analysis, has mainly been studied in scientific articles from health and medicine domains. With the emerge of social networks, there are new opportunities for content analysis, which can be used to analyse user generated content, from various sources. Nevertheless, the companies are investing millions of dollars in content analysis, which is often known as sentiment analysis. The discussion in this article helps to understand the main concepts of content analysis for those interested in the domain of qualitative analysis, with the help of automated and manual qualitative research. The overall conclusion is that automated qualitative analysis is dependent on how accurate is the tool used and this feature can be checked with the help of manual qualitative analysis.

Ensuring social educational processes does not only represent a trend in terms of the evolution of e-Learning systems, but also one of the main points of interest targeted by the developers of certain social platforms. In fact, raising awareness with respect to the importance of using Social Media tools in education leads to a two-way approach: both by integrating social tools into e-Learning systems and by integrating learning facilities into Social Media platforms. Over time, the social network Facebook has benefited from intense use at global level, including in e-Learning processes. In order to meet the current needs in terms of teaching and learning, Facebook has provided users with built-in opportunities to facilitate social learning processes. However, expanding the Social Learning features integrated in Facebook can be a challenge at present, because of the policies imposed for the social network. The present article outlines a proposed architecture for extending the Social Learning functionalities offered within Facebook Groups by ensuring the correlation with WordPress open-source CMS. Aspects related to how the correlation between the two platforms can be ensured, the necessary tools and the steps involved will be discussed. Also, the main implications and advantages offered by such an architecture and the identified limitations will be highlighted.

Nowadays, an increasingly attractive research domain is represented by the integration of eLearning systems with the Social Media tools. However, identifying the proper Social Media platform to serve educational purposes could be an extremely hard task, mainly due to the variations from platform to platform. Thus, the first aim of this article is to identify the optimum typology that could be successfully integrated with eLearning systems. Moving forward, a classification of the top 20 most popular Social Media sites at global level in terms of their main objectives will be required in order to asses a specific typology of each of this. Thereafter, we propose a preliminary model of comparison among the Social Media sites that comply with the identified typology. The process consists in analyzing the main perspectives on these sites, by discussing some established key points and classifying the platforms by their capacity to serve educational purposes.

Background: Using the power of Internet, crowdfunding platforms are currently changing the traditional landscape of fundraising. Social media-based IT platforms in particular are bringing the creators of crowdfunding projects closer than ever to potential investors. A large variety of factors function as determinants of individuals' intention to participate in crowdfunding and have an intertwined impact on funding as the ultimate project goal.Objectives: For a better understanding of investor behavior in social media-based crowdfunding projects, this paper covers identifying, analyzing, and classifying general and specific factors of investor motivation, based on the literature in the field.The main focus is the relationship between the affordances provided by social media-based crowdfunding platforms and the psychological determinants of investor motivation in innovative start-up projects.Methods: Using IEEE Explore, Clarivate Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Scopus, we conducted a systematic review of the existing research on the emerging role of crowdfunding as a disruptive technology in financing the start-up innovative projects. The paper explores the main determinants of investor motivation and aims to streamline the success factors in crowdfunding campaigns.Results: A total of 1,216 publications were identified after searching the aforementioned databases and, upon refining the results, 515 articles were considered for the final sample. After reading the titles and abstracts, the sample was reduced to 78 articles that were read in-depth and synthesized in accordance with the defined research questions. The selected articles were clustered into three main categories: general studies, determinants of investor behavior, and success factors.Conclusions: In the new global economy, crowdfunding platforms have become the nexus between the emerging creators of innovative products and services and the necessary funding sources. This connection is possible via a cumulative collection of contributions from multiple investors recruited from the audience of the selected platform, without time or space constraints. However, the determinants of the investment decision are very different in the case of social media-based crowdfunding platforms compared to determinants in the mainstream environment. This paper surveys these motivators and reveals how platform features can be used to persuade individuals to make a financial contribution toward the success of a project.

The role of English as a world language can be traced back to its formal role as the dominant language of the British Empire, whereby Standard British English has diversified into numerous regional and local varieties of ''new Englishes''. The paper is an attempt to make a theoretical overview of the role of English nowadays, analyzing some of its varieties and approaches to Maritime English as a fully-fledged type of ESP, arguing for its unique character, since its teaching and learning, as well as its research, are based on international legal procedures.

(1) Purpose: The main objective of this research was to determine if and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted new entrepreneurial opportunities. The study also focused on finding the means of actions that can positively affect the future entrepreneurial field. (2) Methodology: Initially, the literature review was approached, the complementary evaluation of the researchers’ interest sustaining the timeliness of the analyzed topic. The empirical analysis implied conducting a multiple statistical regression on how the new entrepreneurial opportunities can be affected by relevant variables. (3) Findings: The obtained results highlighted a potential beneficial effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship, namely determining new entrepreneurial opportunities. The need to consider new directions of action in entrepreneurship was also outlined, the online migration and the adaption to new market configurations being considered essential promoters of change. (4) Practical Implications/Originality/Value: Although existing research focused, to a large extent, on analyzing the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on entrepreneurship, few of them highlighted a future perspective that would ensure the continuity of entrepreneurial processes in extreme conditions, such as those under study. The present research could contribute to the specialty literature enrichment while serving as guidance to the entrepreneurship practitioners towards the implementation of long-term visions and processes.

Modern educational technologies encompass a variety of variables such as people, processes, assets, environments, technology. These variables are part of a complex system which has some important properties and a final purpose: delivering learning material and keeping track of the recipient’s evolution and development. The purpose of this paper is to define the system of modern educational technologies with the help of its variables and internal or external processes as well as to find where mobile learning fits in this large system. From a technical point of view we want to analyze whether Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is enough or proper to integrate mobile learning in this system. At the end we should be able to decide if dedicated mobile apps, or mobile friendly sites or a combination of those two are suited to deliver the results we are looking for with the support of SOA, if we consider the variety of devices and operating systems we are trying to integrate.

The Romanian existing building stock of collective dwellings is in a vast majority composed of reinforced concrete large prefabricated panel blocks of flats, erected during Communism. According to the 1992 Census, these standardized and widespread buildings housed almost 60 percent of the urban population of the country. Due to the small, inflexible apartments on one hand and the changing living conditions of the contemporary Romanian society on the other, a need for extending the inner surface of the existing flats has been identified. This situation led to the adoption of technically restrictive ground-floor spatial additions and other vernacular solutions that are being applied to upper stories, some of them not being able to provide, in many cases, any forms of long term structural guarantee to their users. The present paper describes a prefabricated steel structure solution for cantilevered apartment extensions that can be independently attached to the facade, as well as some technical connecting details to the existing building. A global structural analysis performed on a virtual model depicting a widespread type of block of flats (Model 770) proves the non-intrusive influence the cantilevered apartment extensions have over the existing buildings, in multiple different scenarios of attachments. Moreover, a FEM analysis of the proposed details further shows the reliability of the examined solution.

The object of the paper is an industrial building, part of a vineyard, located in a rocky zone of Arad County Romania. The investor and architect requirements led to locate the building at a height of 14.00 m, partially supported by the rocky wall of the hill at one end, while the other end is supported by a reinforced concrete rectangular tower, built near the hill. The show room area (located into a glazed cantilever zone of the building) spans 10.0 m beyond the support tower. Thus, most of the building spans in the air, creating an impression of “suspension”. The paper describes some of the problems confronted by the structural engineer during the design phase, also influenced by architectural concepts.

A system built to support management decisions and not only needs to be accurate and well adapted to the requirements of the decision and the variables involved in it, and this happens because a decision is still a human act in any type of business and institution. We can say that a decision support system has a part in it that cannot be determined by any software: the human decision which is not a determinist act. It depends on a lot of variables but also still involves the decision maker intuition and experience. This is why an important problem emerged to be discussed in this paper: the need to implement and develop an in house solution to help management decisions and not only, using existing tools and this with no additional fees. This can be a good opportunity to discover models and solutions. An identified solution using Microsoft Excel and Access is discussed in this paper and a model applied on a case study will be presented. The results of the case study showed a real support in making decisions and a better transparency in manipulating the data, improving also the time needed to collect, transform and present data. The model can be applied in any type of problem that needs a visual presentation of data as well as in situations that need working with a large amount of data, but especially in small and medium size companies.

Nowadays, information flows are powerfully augmented by Social Media. This situation brings along the adjustment of the traditional information security threats to this new environment, as well as the emergence of new characteristic dangers. The purpose of this study is to learn about Generation Y students’ attitude to risks and security measures when using Social Networks (SN). The correct identification of their behavior is, in our opinion, essential for the academic community. Firstly, we need to understand what their real knowledge in the field is. Then, a serious and consistent adaptation of our courses in Information Security and other subjects and a redefinition of universities’ security policies and procedures is necessary. On this basis, in an empirical study, we try to determine how much our students know about security threats and subsequent protection measures in SN.

If in the beginning the New Information and Communication Technologies were considered important factors for economic growth, nowadays they are synonymous with sustainable development. Their impact on society is on its way to reformulate the equation of national productivity enabling significant improvements in the efficiency the matter and energy are being used with. Their added value resides mainly in the manipulation and diffusion (in many cases free on Internet) of ideas and not of matter or energy. The access to global innovation networks is unfortunately unequal in the various regions of the world. While some regions are considered real knowledge hubs which can connect anytime to the global knowledge flows, there are areas where these remain sporadic. A careful attention should be paid to the sharing of knowledge within virtual communities due to the unprecedented evolution of the Internet and its impact on the information systems.

The traditional economic development aims at customer satisfaction and profits maximization, but overused the natural resources. Therefore, it becomes a necessity to take into account the social and environmental aspects. In order to ensure sustainable development, it have been adopted numerous rules and regulations which set objectives and targets aiming to reduce emissions and contributing to a responsible behavior. One of the objectives set at EU level is to ensure that sustainable development is the use of renewable resources in the production of electricity. In order to encourage the use of renewable energy sources for energy production it applied a system of promotion throughout green certificates, which aims, among other goals, to reduce imports of primary energy resources, stimulate the local and regional sustainable development, create employment throughout new jobs, reduce the environmental pollution by minimizing emissions. In this paper we intend to analyze the tools used in Romania for the purpose of promoting the production of energy from renewable sources, the green certificates market, the share of renewable energy in gross inland consumption, the fulfillment degree of the target and their reflection in the annual financial statements of energy production companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

In this article our purpose is to emphasize the characteristic feature of banking information systems from an integrative, multidisciplinary perspective, including elements related to economic informatics and also organizational management, marketing and international affairs, applied in the context of banking institutions by identifying and reasoning their place, role, evolutions and perspectives. Banking information systems’ architectural analysis integrates multiple delimitations, bringing together different perspectives which underline the high level of complexity requested by the nature and diversity of those activities performed by banking institutions, outlining some characteristic models according to aspects regarding applications localization, connectivity type and operation environment. There have been emphasized especially banking activities having the highest complexity in information transfer, namely, banking payments and settlements activities, underlining their mechanisms, as well as the specific architecture of Romanian electronic payment system.

The purpose of this study is to learn about Generation Y students’ traits, habits, needs and expectations when using Social Media (SM). The correct identification of their behavior is, in our opinion, essential for the academic community. Firstly, we need to understand what their real profile is. Then, a serious and consistent adaptation of our attitudes, teaching materials and ways of providing information and a redefinition of universities’ policies and procedures are necessary. On this basis, in an empirical study, we try to determine why do Generation Y students use SM, what are their preferences for one media or another, how/for how long/from where do they use SM tools, and what do they expect from universities and professors.

The sandwich panel roof supported by continuously connected thin-walled cold-formed Z-purlins with overlapping over intermediate supports is a practical case of very frequent use. Among the two possible directions of investigation mentioned in the code when studying torsional/distortional instability of Z-purlins (i.e. rotational stiffness and linear stiffness) the authors have chosen to look at the notional linear spring placed at the free flange of the purlin. The linear spring is defined by EN 1993-1-3 Annex A5, as an equivalent or alternative to the stabilizing rotational spring generated by the continuous connection of the sandwich panels to purlin upper flange. This type of approach, on authors' opinion, has the advantage to include into the experimental phase, the real imperfections, and support conditions characteristic to such roof systems, having a very important impact on purlin stability behaviour. A description of the proposed full scale arrangement and experimental conditions, plus values of obtained results are given in the paper.

Liner trays are large channel-type thin-walled steel sections with two narrow flanges, two webs and one wide flange, very frequently used in practice both to resist perpendicular uniformly distributed loading from wind and create a diaphragm effect at the level of buildings cladding. Such cladding systems are normally built using a required number of horizontally laid inter-connected adjacent liner trays plus an external skin of sinusoidal or trapezoidal sheeting installed perpendicularly to their direction (with vertical corrugations). This results in a stiff metal cellular system (as outer wall of the building) having its inner space filled with thermo insulating material. When trying to evaluate the resistance of such elements by experiment, the specific constructional details play a major role and create quite complex problems in establishing a correct experimental procedure. Thus an experimental setup made of three joined liner trays is proposed with adequate detailing to match the real situation of such claddings. The investigation on liner trays was conducted by a joint team belonging to The Romanian Academy (Timisoara Branch), The Politehnica University of Timisoara (CEMSIG Laboratory) and The National Institute for Research and Development (INCD-URBAN-INCERC)–Timisoara Division. Aspects related to the experimental setup, test results (in terms of found collapse modes) experimentally and numerically determined resistances are emphasized. A comparison with code based theoretical results and FE simulation is presented and discussed in the final part.

The role of local and central public administrations in promoting sustainable development and building up a better future for society is essential. In order to fulfill this mission, employees in public administration sector must engage in long life learning processes, for the purpose of developing skills such as: anticipation, interdisciplinarity, diversity of perspectives, working with incomplete or complex information, participation in sustainable development processes, cooperation, individual decision-making capacities, empathy, solidarity, and self-motivation. The Education for Sustainable Development as a component of lifelong learning is, in this light, of utmost importance. In this spirit, this paper investigates what is the Romanian public sector employees&rsquo, perception of long life learning as an essential premise of Education for Sustainable Development, by analysing on the one hand the degree of digital maturity of public institutions in Romania, and on the other hand the interest of employees in such institutions to engage in Education for Sustainable Development function of the following disjunct behavioural/emotional states: Disappointment, Conflicts, Satisfaction/Contentment, Doubt, Exhaustion, Attachment.

Without any doubt, cloud computing has become one of the most significant trends in any enterprise, not only for IT businesses. Besides the fact that the cloud can offer access to low cost, considerably flexible computing resources, cloud computing also provides the capacity to create a new relationship between business entities and corporate IT departments. The value added to the business environment is given by the balanced use of resources, offered by cloud computing. The cloud mentality includes the possibility to have access without storing or maintaining technologies. This leads not only to changing the way business is conducted, on an individual level, but it is also widely transforming purchase decision-making.

Mobile learning is a very wide term which encompasses not only learning principles, but also in most cases a bunch of smart devices, from smartphone to tablet or wearable devices. Any device that allows learning anywhere and anytime is a channel to information, a channel that helps gain knowledge and apply it, and this is the main goal of mobile learning. It is not so simple to develop such a system in practice. One of the most important question is how an app can be designed to support learning and to help the user and not to tangle him or her in mobile apps that are too sophisticated and difficult to be handled. In this purpose the Natural User Interface (NUI) principles help, and with this article we want to prove that the university students are interested in applications that are easy to use, fun and help learning in a natural way, without barriers like the dimension of the screen or the lack of features. The study will use data gathered from questionnaires, to extract the needs of the students, in the context of a mobile world, and to compare it with the principles of NUI design. We consider, this is necessary before trying to develop an app, to determine the degree of utilization in the future implementation, but also to meet and support the needs for learning and information of the students, which is one of the main goals of mobile learning and not waste our efforts and resources.

In the last five years, the new waves in Information and Communication Technologies together with the increase of mobile technologies have developed new possibilities for the collaboration between the governments and the citizens. Year by year, the governments are using huge quantities of ICT especially based on Internet and on mobile devices, to improve the quality of services between government agencies and companies, citizens, or government agencies from other countries. In a period of financial crisis we have less and less time at disposition. The new possibilities offered by Information and Communication Technologies give government chances to rethink strategies and ways of working providing services for citizens and businesses. In this world in a continuous changing, the state must recognize the importance of fulfilling the new needs and expectations of the citizens in opposition with the reality of reduced budgets. While the literature is not as robust as we would like to see, many articles are talking only about positive impact of eGovernment and less on difficulties or misconceptions, especially in financial crisis period.

The introduction of Cloud Computing creates a wave of reluctance for specialists representing the information security field. This reluctance comes from end users as well, who think data stored on an internal infrastructure are much safer than those held on the servers of potential providers, and also from governments that apply different policies at the national level regarding the security of personal data. Non-acceptance and reluctance of cloud technologies also come from the impact of changing perceptions about infrastructure architectures, development and application delivery models that the emergence of these technologies had led to. Many of the technologies used for traditional security issues are no longer effective in the cloud. Meanwhile, other solutions were developed to put more focus on Governance in the Cloud. To successfully manage and ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of information technologies as a corporate resource, organizations have turned to what is IT governance. Rapid transition to cloud technologies fuel a critical issue regarding the success of information systems, communication and information security. As a consequence, the paper aims to identify, evaluate and clarify information security in the Cloud using three principles of security (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability) and to emphasize the importance of Governance in Cloud Computing at the business level.

The new developments in ICT along with the growth of mobile communication have developed new ways of interaction between the governments and the citizens. More and more governments are using information and communication technology especially Internet or web-based network, to provide services between government agencies and citizens, businesses, employees and other nongovernmental agencies. The paper try to present an introduction on the characteristics of mobile government and some major issues that justify the necessity of the mobile government and identify the potential that it possesses, but also the problems that concerns such an activity (trust, security risks, privacy risks). Adoption of mobile technologies by government organizations not only benefits the parties who use these services, but also has a positive impact in the productivity and costs of these organizations.

The new developments in ICT along with the growth of mobile communication have developed new ways of interaction between the governments and the citizens. More and more governments are using information and communication technology especially Internet or web-based network, to pro-vide services betwe

Governments worldwide are faced with the challenge of transformation and the need to reinvent government systems in order to deliver efficient and cost effective services, information and knowledge through information and communication technologies. Development of Information and communication technologies catalyzed and led up to E-government. E-government is about transforming the way government interacts with the governed. The process is neither quick nor simple. The success of e-government requires fundamentally changing how government works and how people view the ways in which government helps them. Governments have different strategies to build e-government. Some have created comprehensive long-term plans. Others have opted to identify just a few key areas as the focus of early projects. In all cases, however, the countries identified as most successful have begun with smaller projects in phases on which to build a structure. Research suggests that there is large potential for e-governance, creating a channel that would bring the government closer to citizens by increasing the speed and efficiency of their interactions. In order for e-government to reach it's full potential, there are several barriers it must overcome.

The Internet of Things is almost a new paradigm that is revolutionizing our society and our life. It is intended that all objects around us are connected to the network, providing worldwide access to information. This concept is gaining space, thanks to the large number of devices connected to the web, ranging from mobile devices to appliances. In the same time, the development of Internet of Things (IoT) give rise to a number of security-related and ethical issues which gain a new dimension in the light of the increased complexity of these technologies. The biggest problem is that IoT does not concern objects only; it is about the relations between the everyday objects surrounding humans and humans themselves. It`s important to emphasize that the majority of connected objects are not personal (as smartphones and PCs) and are unattended. Their physical security is not guaranteed (especially for the public networks) and the control of the objects may be lost sometimes. Cascade failures may appear, caused by the interconnectivity of a large number of devices, difficult to be simultaneously protected over the air transmission, with all the related problems. Despite all this problems, in this paper, we focus on the education area, where Internet of Things can be used to create new trends and tools for Long Life Learning process. Following a person - centred design process, the powerful possibilities opened by the Internet of Things are being included to eLearning in order to enhance the learning experience, and will bring more significant learning spaces and tangibility to the learning process.

The present paper uses as research basis a new way of thinking regarding the relation between innovation and knowledge - the Knowledge Flow Percolation Model (KFPM). In this model’s center, human beings are seen as thinking electrons, both consuming and generating knowledge flows. Through the interdependent actions of individuals, knowledge circulates inside organizations, allowing them to innovate in order to obtain competitive advantages. But there is a wide range of barriers which impede the creation and movement of flows in the model grid and consequently, hinder their change into innovation. The solution proposed by this paper as one of the most adequate instruments to make KFPM more spreadable is the project. On this basis, in an empirical study, we try to demonstrate the hypothesis of the positive influence of projects, as knowledge swirls, on the development of innovative skills which will help solving problems in the organization, creating and widening of knowledge and reducing the barriers in knowledge transfer.

Le secteur public en Europe est à la croisée des chemins. Il doit faire face à une situation économique et sociale difficile, à des changements institutionnels et aux changements importants imposés par des nouvelles technologies. De plus en plus on attend du secteur public, en tant que promoteur de la croissance économique, qu'il puisse jouer et qu'il joue un rôle beaucoup plus actif dans la réalisation des objectifs de la stratégie de Lisbonne visant ainsi le renouveau économique, social et environnemental. Internet permet de transformer la manière dont le gouvernement communique avec les citoyens et les entreprises afin d'offrir à chacun des services personnalisés transparents et de qualité. La présente étude s'attarde au concept du gouvernement électronique et au direction de developpement du concept. Le e-gouvernement est un vecteur de nouveaux espoirs. Aujourd'hui, le e-gouvernement est perçu comme le meilleur instrument pour restaurer la confiance des citoyens dans la chose publique.

The paper is dealing with the problem of a functional conversion (involving both architectural and structural issues) applied to the case of an industrial building. As well known, temporary tents, designed according to the European Code EN13782, represent a remarkable stake on the building market and a fast and practical solution for some situations. It is exactly the case approached by the paper, where the investor has initially decided to erect on his platform a provisional shelter for agricultural machines and subsequent staff, built of a light steel structure covered by PVC roofing and cladding. This temporary tent has been acquired from a specialized supplier in form of a series product. After using the tent for a number of years, the investor has decided to convert the existing structure from architectural and structural point of view by switching to a permanent structure designed accordingly. Important changes were thus imposed both to the architectural part (technological flows, openings, facades) and especially to the structural part where this switch imposed a re-design to the codes of permanent structures (especially as far as climatic loadings are concerned). The required architectural change implied the building of a 70 cm high concrete plinth and replacing the PVC membrane temporary roofing and cladding by permanent 60 mm thick PUR sandwich panels. Together with a new system of openings this has led to renewed facades of the buildings. As for the structural change, the required conversion has imposed a thorough checking of the existing steel structure (very slender and typical to a tent) in view of transforming it into a permanent structure. The consolidation measures of the existing galvanized steel structure are described, together with the measures applied at infrastructure level in order to implement the required conversion.

The use of many multimedia channels in order to bring information to target groups is not something new. What is new is related to how these channels are exploited by mixing techniques and technologies. We realized an online questionnaire to identify the multimedia techniques/tools that have impact on user’s satisfaction. We used comparative statistical analyses (Levene’s test) to observe if there are any significant differences between multimedia users and non-multimedia users. We identified that the preferred techniques are: the presence of a narrator, the existence of some suggestive images, slides and demos. These are only some factors that we identified. We studied also the influence of features as: access to, scenario type, interactivity, flexibility, additional options and effects and time dependency. We determined that the existence of useful links is an important factor for overall satisfaction of the user with multimedia materials.

The first steps in e-learning were designed for individual learning. In that stage there were few practical ways to integrate multiple learners or instructors into asynchronous self study e-learning. Actually, the traditional education system faces many changes arising from the development of the knowledge based economy. The past 10 years have seen dramatic changes in higher education in terms of increased access to education, lifelong learning, increased choice in areas of study and the personalization of learning. The widespread availability of digital learning resources in a variety of media formats, anytime and anywhere offers the possibility to make a profound difference in education. E-learning means not only Information and Communication Technologies, complex media or Internet. In the new vision e-learning is a complex field involving institutional, individual, technical and social components. This entire environment is changing dynamically day by day. The associated technologies are evolving rapidly especially the mobile communication technologies. E-learning is a success story from many years. Everybody talks about e-learning advantages and disadvantages but few about the necessity of standardization in this area. So, one of the major topics in the discussion about e-learning must be standards. With all the disappointing problems that e-learning systems had today, we must remain optimistic about the future. We must align the activities of training with the strategic objectives of the university. This paper describes and analyzes trends in the information technologies and the impact these have on the education sector as a whole, but particularly on the higher education sector.

The association between cloud computing and education might seem to be incomprehensible, mostly because only a small number of users and publishers alike belong to the education domain. Cloud computing commonly relates to the business environment, as a means of enhancing efficiency. But universities are also interested in increasing efficiency during times of economic crisis and especially when it lasts. Furthermore, the idea of applying cloud computing in this field arose from the perspective of collaboration and stronger relationship between institutions located in different areas of countries. There are several issues that occur and make educational parameters unattainable. Such a list could include small classrooms, lack or resources, short-handed staff, lack of adequate teachers. This is the scenario where cloud computing can be utilized in order to improve education standards and activities. The end result will be to curb the above problems and instead, boost performance. Regarding the benefits and risks of cloud computing, educational institutions can mitigate risks by carefully selecting the provider and by closely monitoring the evolution of the process. As for the benefits, an important advantage derives from the possibility to ensure efficient and inexpensive data management, flexibility and better security for IT departments. Due to the use of cloud computing, educational institutions acquire powerful software and massive computing resources when and where they are necessary. It is important to reiterate the education philosophy if we aim to point out the place that cloud computing deserves in the current area of education. The essence is knowledge which brings advancement, achievement and success.