ONLINE MEDIA COVERAGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEST IN ROMANIA. ROŞIA MONTANĂ CASE

Romania, the place where protests never take place, has been facing significant civil disobedience and street demonstrations in the last years. Of them, environmental protests present several particularities and do not convey social problems. The cyanide exploitation in Roşia Montană in Romania has been debated lately due to the fact that the place is part of the Romanian historical heritage and due to the negative environment impact. The project has been delayed several times being subject to political and public environment policies. Moreover, the cyanide exploitation generated protests and street demonstrations against the project. The present study reveals the media coverage of the protest and analyses the way Romanian media referred to the environmental protest related to Roşia Montană through messages. We investigate the media message and implicitly the representation comprised in it. Our analysis includes several predetermined indicators in order to evaluate the media impact regarding the case: environment, economics, and legislative framework, presence of protests, involvement of non-governmental organizations, civil society/community and politicians

Editorial paper : exploring management through qualitative research : introductory remarks

Our intention with this special issue is to continue a rich, scholarly dialogue on producing insightful qualitative research in the management field. Being engaged in fieldwork through varied research endeavors, we have experienced challenges and uncertainties when doing qualitative research (e.g., Najda-Janoszka, 2016a, 2016b; Daba-Buzoianu, Bira, Tudorie & Duduciuc, 2017; Daba-Buzoianu & Bira, 2017). Despite a growing number of studies pertaining to the interpretative approach, there are no universal standards for conducting qualitative inquiry (Bluhm, Harman, Lee, & Mitchell, 2010; Cassell & Symon, 2015). Moreover, advocates of qualitative research have been arguing against development of such standards (Sinkovics & Alfoldi, 2012; Pratt, 2009), because it could put at risk the fluid and emergent nature of qualitative research (Cassell & Symon, 2015). Hence, the enduring dilemma relates to the balance between the creative, inherent messiness of qualitative research and methodological rigor (Cyfert, 2014; Sinkovics & Alfoldi, 2012). We agree with the standpoint of Symon,- Cassell and Johnson (2016) that evaluation criteria should not marginalize alternative perspectives nor impose unified normative practices. Representing different research backgrounds (strategic management, communication) as well as perspectives (organizational, individual) we have discussed promising opportunities for management studies stemming from confronting distinct research traditions within an interpretive approach. The biennial conference, Qualitative Research in Communication (QRC) in Bucharest, provided the perfect environment to enhance such a debate and resulted in a call for this special issue. Papers included in the issue do not contribute to the standardization trend but are expected to show the diversity of methods used and phenomena studied in the qualitative research in management

BUILDING A DISCIPLINE. THE SETUP OF COMMUNICATION AS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE IN ROMANIA

This paper aims to shed a light on the importance of looking on the epistemological and methodological grounds of communication as a discipline in Romania in order to be able to discuss about the professionalization of the domain. We start from the widely acknowledged idea that communication is a new and emerging field, drawing its concepts, theories, and methods from diverse other fields and domains. In Romania, as well as in other former communist countries, after 1990 the changes in the political and economic situation created the premises to establish university programs in communication and to create jobs for people working in communication. All these were possible with the help of “imports” from the Western world, imports that transferred not only concepts and theories, but also the epistemological dispute and weakness of the field. This paper explores the development and the current state of communication as an academic discipline in Romania. Through an analysis of the social documents available on the University program’s website, we seek to understand the theoretical roots of the discipline of communication, as well as its current development.

LOOKING FOR THE BEST SLOGAN: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SLOGANS OF THE 2016 ROMANIAN PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGN

The paper investigates the slogans released by political parties during the elections for the Romanian Parliament in 2016, by addressing the way they have been perceived by both political analysts and students enrolled in communication programs. We aim to see how two different target audience evaluate the slogans and how they refer to them. Also, we are interested to see what the students remember about the slogans after six months after the end of the campaign, in order to explore if their memories about the slogans had any connection with the political analysts comments made during the elections

Berberine: Botanical Occurrence, Traditional Uses, Extraction Methods, and Relevance in Cardiovascular, Metabolic, Hepatic, and Renal Disorders

Berberine-containing plants have been traditionally used in different parts of the world for the treatment of inflammatory disorders, skin diseases, wound healing, reducing fevers, affections of eyes, treatment of tumors, digestive and respiratory diseases, and microbial pathologies. The physico-chemical properties of berberine contribute to the high diversity of extraction and detection methods. Considering its particularities this review describes various methods mentioned in the literature so far with reference to the most important factors influencing berberine extraction. Further, the common separation and detection methods like thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry are discussed in order to give a complex overview of the existing methods. Additionally, many clinical and experimental studies suggest that berberine has several pharmacological properties, such as immunomodulatory, antioxidative, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, and renoprotective effects. This review summarizes the main information about botanical occurrence, traditional uses, extraction methods, and pharmacological effects of berberine and berberine-containing plants

Community compensation in the context of Carbon Capture and Storage: Current debates and practices

Societal opposition has the potential to slow down the implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). One of the difficulties is that the perceived benefits associated with a CCS facility for local communities tend to be low compared to its perceived burdens. As is the case for other low carbon technologies, community compensation (or community benefits) has been suggested as a way to restore this perceived imbalance. A diverse literature has looked into the role of community compensation across various land uses and research fields. Synthesis is limited, while at the same time, the provision of community compensation in practice is moving from an ad hoc to a more institutionalized approach. Therefore, it is important to take stock of the literature. This paper provides a review of the community compensation literature in the form of four debates, drawing together environmental social science research on different low carbon technologies (e.g. CCS, renewable energy). In addition, current practices in community compensation for four European countries are discussed. The two parts of this paper are brought together in a set of lessons for the provision of community compensation for future CCS projects; in turn, suggestions for further research are made to address remaining knowledge gaps

Using Social Media Listening in Crisis Communication and Management: New Methods and Practices for Looking into Crises

The paper aims to explore new methods and practices for looking into crises in online environments by using social media listening tools and methods. Based on the case of two privately owned hospitals in Romania facing boycotts due to their response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we study the social media conversations on the topic, the emerging themes, the visibility triggered and the impact on the brand and actors involved. Drawing on a social media listening and crisis communication framework, our research looks to unveil the relationship between stakeholders’ expectations and brand promise, aiming to foresee predictive crisis communication and management models

Using Social Media Listening in Crisis Communication and Management: New Methods and Practices for Looking into Crises

The paper aims to explore new methods and practices for looking into crises in online environments by using social media listening tools and methods. Based on the case of two privately owned hospitals in Romania facing boycotts due to their response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we study the social media conversations on the topic, the emerging themes, the visibility triggered and the impact on the brand and actors involved. Drawing on a social media listening and crisis communication framework, our research looks to unveil the relationship between stakeholders’ expectations and brand promise, aiming to foresee predictive crisis communication and management models