Sustainability and Financing: “The American Way of Life” – Switching Gears Towards a Sustainable Approach

The financialization of society has generated an ethos based on the desire for profit without ethical limits worldwide, leading to the destruction of natural ecosystems and cultures, and poverty and inequality. Moreover, the financial lack of control has led to the crisis of the system itself, not only economically but also environmentally, because financial capitalism is not sustainable, since it needs to grow indefinitely to maintain itself. Naturally, this is not feasible for the simple fact that we live in a closed system, with limits that cannot be surpassed, which is Earth. Therefore, the grounds of this article rely upon the following hypothesis: the strategy against financial capitalism and consumer society resides in the transformation of the “American way of life” into a sustainable lifestyle. First and foremost, the present article aims to describe and offer an in-depth perspective about what, in the specialized literature, is known under the name of “The American way of life”. Our main goal is to pinpoint some of its key features and try to offer, for each one of them, a sustainable counterpart. Hence, a systematic literature review of the subject matter has been carried out with a search for information in various media such as books, magazines, newspapers, and web pages. The main topics pondered were: political and economic news; critical philosophical thinking with capitalism; the history of ecology and current proposals; and conferences of international institutions related to sustainable development. Therefore, the article is structured as follows: the first part of the article aims to review the current situation, based on recent informative data, books on the main theme as well as documents from international organizations. Thus, an analysis of the role of culture in civilization is being carried out, focusing on the cultural model of capitalist civilization and the reasons for its crisis, throughout the literature review. Secondly, we try to explain why there is a global need to move towards sustainable development by analyzing the possibilities of evolution. Finally, we try to advocate for a sustainable-oriented paradigm of doing business, one that can help us redirect and reconfigure our business effort of growing and expanding, underpinning research and practice of sustainability and development. It is therefore essential to adopt a core framework for practice and research on human-environmental systems, to bridge gaps between science and practice – on one hand, and social, ecological, professional sciences - on the other hand

THE INFLUENCE OF PROTECTING METHOD ON PHYSIOLOGICAL INDICES AT CAPSICUM GROWN ON SANDY SOILS

Research conducted in the field of plant physiology aimed at monitoring physiological reactions under the influence of climatic and agrotechnical factors. Agrotechnical factors can lead in order to increase photosynthetic efficiency, which influence qualitative and quantitative the production of pepper grown on sandy soils. The methods used to protect contributed to achieving a different microclimate, with positive impact both on plant metabolism and the earliness and high production compared to control plants unprotected. The amount of water in the leaves recorded values between 84% at plants protected with mulch and 88% at plants protected with Agryl. The dried substance hasregistered values between 12% at plants protected with Agryl and 16% at plants protected with mulch. At plants protected with Agrylis ensuredan aeration and circulation of air currents, maintaining a maximum foliar humidity. The rate of photosynthesis in April registered high values at the protected plants, compared with the unprotected plants. Foliar hydration registered high values due to rainfalls, which ensured a good supply of water at this stage of vegetation. Leaf transpiration rate recorded high values in May at 12 o'clock, ranging from 7,41 to 11,84 mmol H2O/m2/s, pepper being a plant that consumes a large amount of water

RESEARCH ON ESTABLISHING ECHNOLOGICAL PARAMETERS WITH HIGH EFFICIENCY IN JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE CULTURE

In the period 2018-2020. within RDSFCSS Dabuleni, from Romania, 4 planting epochs were studied and 2 harvest epochs. Determinations were made on the number of tubers/plant, the average weight of a tuber and the production per unit area. Regardless of the planting epoch both the number of tubers/plant and the average weight of a tuber was higher in the plants  harvested after 29 weeks after planting. The highest production of tubers was obtained by planting Jerusalem artichoke between April 15-25 and harvested after 29 weeks. In this variant. the production was 66.02 t / ha. corresponding to a number of 45.9 tubers / plant. with an average weight of 47.8 g / tuber

Pondering Digitalization: An Exploratory Study on Organizational Capitalization of Digital Media for Disclosing CSR

The goal of this study had as a premise a perceived gap of knowledge regarding the use of digital media and platforms by Romanian organizations with the purpose to disclose corporate social responsibility (CSR) information. In the context of the ever-increasing digitalization process, the research aimed to explore the current situation within the organizational setting to provide evidence on the type of media and content used and with a view to identifying possible trends. To objectively assess the situation, the study employed models developed by various researchers to measure CSR disclosure on corporate websites, Facebook and Twitter accounts. The results of the study indicate that the selected Romanian companies make limited use of online media for the purpose to reveal CSR. They rather prefer corporate websites and Facebook accounts to communicate such information to stakeholders, while Twitter is rarely utilized. The findings point to the fact that education and social development are the areas of CSR where Romanian companies mostly contribute, but, at the same time, they signal that the advantages and advances availed by systemic digitalization are yet to be properly exploited against the backdrop of CSR disclosure

VARIABILITY OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS AT THE ISALNITA 43 GARDEN DWARF BEAN VARIETY IN THE PROCESS OF CONSERVATIVE SELECTION

The researches carried out at the Research and Development Station for Plant Culture on Sands from Dăbuleni, in the period 2018 - 2020 regarding the variability of the main quantitative characters, for the Ișalnița 43 dwarf garden bean variety showed differentiated results, depending on the climatic conditions of each study year. Through the statistical analysis of the main quantitative characters, the variety Ișalnița 43 presented a coefficient of variability (s%) small, medium and high for the studied characters. The calculation and analysis of variability showed a medium variability (15.04%) for plant height. low variability (7.77%) for pod length. low variability (6.98%) for pod thickness / width ratio and high variability (30.42%) for the number of pods / plant. The study of the coefficients of genotypic and phenotypic variation, are used to determine the genetic variability, and its correct estimation is an essential condition in the seed breeding and production program

THE BEHAVIOR OF VARIETIES OF JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE ON THE SANDY SOILS FROM SOUTH OF OLTENIA

The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) is considered a species with relatively high tolerance to water stress and very high adaptability to extremes of unfavorable factors - drought resistance, at extremely high temperatures (350- 450C the plants and -300 -450C the tubers). The tubers with high inulin content are formed on the root branches and are increasingly used as food for patients with diabetes. The variety is one of the main factors of the technology, the cultivation of a variety should be done only after a preliminary test regarding its adaptability to the natural environmental factors. On the sandy soils from Dabuleni were studied the varieties Dacic, Olimp, Rustic and the local population Dăbuleni. It was noted by the number of tubers/plant the Olimp variety with 60.4 stems/plant, and the highest weight of a tuber was recorded in the Rustic variety (51.6 g/tuber). The highest production was made at the Olimp variety, respectively 70.03 t/ha, corresponding to the largest number of tubers harvested at a plant, followed by the production of the Rustic variety of 51.97t/ ha. At the Dacic variety, 15.6 t/ha were obtained, and the local population of Dăbuleni achieved the lowest production (6.45 t/ha). The inulin content was between 12.49% in the Rustic variety and 14.47% in the Olimp variety. Dacic varieties and local population Dăbuleni were highlighted by high in total dry matter, soluble dry matter and soluble carbohydrates, and Rustic varieties and local population Dabuleni were high in vitamin C content (14.92-14.96 mg)

RESEARCH ON THE EFFICACY AND SELECTIVITY OF SOME HERBICIDES APPLIED TO GRAIN SORGHUM

The research carried out during the period 2018-2019 at Dabuleni Research Development Station for Plant Culture on Sands (Dabuleni RDSPCS) underlines the importance of the herbicide work on the sorghum crop for grains, placed under the conditions of sandy soils. The products were tested: Trek P34 SE (pendimethalin 64 g / l + terbuthylazine 270 g / l), in doses of 2.5 l / ha and 3.5 l / ha, Gardoprim Plus Gold 500 SC (S-metolachlor 312, 5 g / l + terbuthylazine 197.5 g / l), in a dose of 1 l / ha, Universal Buctril (bromoxynil 280 g / l + 2,4-D acid (ester) 280 g / l), in a dose of 1 l / ha, Dicopur Top 464 SL (344 g / l 2.4 D acid from DMA salt and 120 g / l dicamba), in a dose of 1 l / ha and Dual Gold 960 EC (960 g/l S-metolaclor), in a dose of 1,5 l/ha. The spectrum of weeds recorded in the untreated variant is highlighted by the abundant presence of the species Ambrosia artemisiifolia, in 48.9%, followed by Digitaria sanguinalis (29.6%), Portulacca oleraceaea (12.2%) and Chenopodium album (9.3 %). The EWRS ratings, regarding the weed degree in the untreated variant, underline high values throughout the vegetation period, the grades being in the range 6-9, with an average of 7.88. Compared to this variant, the application of herbicides ensures a weed control, for the period 15-60 days after application, in a percentage of 50.8-71.4%. The obtained results show that the best control over the weed degree in the sorghum culture was achieved by the post-emergent application of the product Trek P34 SE, at a dose of 3, 5 l / ha, the production of grains obtained at harvesting being 7333.5 kg / ha, compared with the non-herbicide control, in which 3070.5 kg / ha were registered

Delving into Stakeholders’ Perceptions of the Efficient Transition to the Circular Economy

The importance of knowledge management in facilitating a successful transition to a circular economy through the creation of a circular business model, as a substitute for the conventional linear economic approach, has not been extensively explored. The capacity of a company to coordinate, generate, and disseminate knowledge plays a crucial role in developing environmentally friendly industries and creating new employment opportunities. This article employs a literature review methodology to establish the connection between knowledge management and the shift towards a circular economy. The findings reveal that a company's eco-innovation process relies heavily on strategic knowledge management. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of the system and self-motivated creativity are crucial components of expertise in creating sustainable circular business models. Hence, companies must consistently enhance their knowledge base to improve business processes, eco-efficiency, and eco-innovation. </p

STUDY OF SOME PEPPER GENOTYPES (Capsicum annuum L.) UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THERMAL AND WATER STRESS IN THE SOUTHERN AREA OF OLTENIA

In recent years increasingly many spoken of global climate change, desertification and aridity in many areas, such as the sandy soils in southern of the Oltenia area. Starting from the idea that the negative effect of temperature and water stress factors can be reduced by scientific and technological progress, it requires the collection and evaluation of genetic resources vegetable, adapted of conditions from southern Oltenia. In this regard, at CCDCPN Dăbuleni were followed in  the crop 4  cultivation of domestic pepper (Capsicum annuum L.): Isalnita 85 V, Andrada, Isalnita – Rovine, Amaradia

Research on establishment of tehnological links to Gypsophila paniculata L. on sandy soils

Diversifying the range of plants grown on sandy soils, by introducing the culture of some species able to exploit existing natural conditions and which also contributes to their setting is a necessity. Research conducted at Central Research Station for Agricultural Plants on Sandy Soils of Dăbuleni, Dolj county, Romania, in Gypsophila paniculata L. in sandy soil conditions, have demonstrated the possibility of introducing the culture of this species to exploit these types of higher ground. In type bifactorial experience was aimed at establishing the distance between the lines and the amount of useful seed, used for sowing, taking into study four distances between rows (37.5 cm, 50 cm, 62.5 cm and 75 cm ) and three standard seed (4 kg / ha and 6 kg / ha and 8 kg / ha). The standard distance between rows and sowing the seed used in the production of roots influences. Normal growth of seed from 4 kg / ha to 6 kg / ha and 8 kg / ha is not justified in terms of production. By sowing at a distance of 62.5 cm between rows, using a quantity of seed sown useful to 4 kg / ha, there was a production of 11 t / ha, which enables us to opt for inclusion in the culture of the species Gypsophila paniculata L. sandy soils in southern Oltenia