An Assessment of Institutional Improvements in Romania and Bulgaria Following EU Accession

The purpose of this paper is to analyse to what extent accession to the European Union affected the quality of institutions in Romania and Bulgaria. In order to measure these effects, indicators of perceived corruption have been built based on data from the Life in Transition surveys I, II, III, conducted by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Under the specifications of a difference-in-differences methodology, evidence of a reduction in small acts of corruption has been discovered for both countries, with larger effects in Bulgaria. In regards to high level corruption, Romania proved to be successful in tackling this dimension nine years after the accession, while for Bulgaria the evidence suggests an unfavourable deterioration over time

Optical Frequency Optimization of a High Intensity Laser Power Beaming System Utilizing VMJ Photovoltaic Cells

An effective form of wireless power transmission (WPT) has been developed to enable extended mission durations, increased coverage and added capabilities for both space and terrestrial applications that may benefit from optically delivered electrical energy. The high intensity laser power beaming (HILPB) system enables long range optical 'refueling" of electric platforms such as micro unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAV), airships, robotic exploration missions and spacecraft platforms. To further advance the HILPB technology, the focus of this investigation is to determine the optimal laser wavelength to be used with the HILPB receiver, which utilizes vertical multi-junction (VMJ) photovoltaic cells. Frequency optimization of the laser system is necessary in order to maximize the conversion efficiency at continuous high intensities, and thus increase the delivered power density of the HILPB system. Initial spectral characterizations of the device performed at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) indicate the approximate range of peak optical-to-electrical conversion efficiencies, but these data sets represent transient conditions under lower levels of illumination. Extending these results to high levels of steady state illumination, with attention given to the compatibility of available commercial off-the-shelf semiconductor laser sources and atmospheric transmission constraints is the primary focus of this paper. Experimental hardware results utilizing high power continuous wave (CW) semiconductor lasers at four different operational frequencies near the indicated band gap of the photovoltaic VMJ cells are presented and discussed. In addition, the highest receiver power density achieved to date is demonstrated using a single photovoltaic VMJ cell, which provided an exceptionally high electrical output of 13.6 W/sq cm at an optical-to-electrical conversion efficiency of 24 percent. These results are very promising and scalable, as a potential 1.0 sq m HILPB receiver of similar construction would be able to generate 136 kW of electrical power under similar conditions

Comparative Aspects Regarding the Civil Servants Professional Training in the Local Public Administration in Romania

This paper investigates the legal and institutional framework necessary for the implementation of the right and obligation of civil servants to continuously improve their skills and professional training as stated in the Romanian Administrative Code (Emergency Ordinance no. 57 /2019). In order to highlight this right of civil servants, we carried out a bibliographic analysis presenting legal aspects regarding the obligations of training, the priority areas of training and improvement topics at the local public administration level. As research methods, a short questionnaire was conducted among local public institution employees - from three different territorial administrative units of the local public administration – 1st District of the Bucharest City, the Onești Municipality, and the specialized body of Hunedoara County, in order to see how the civil servants use the right for professional training. The results of the study should outline the degree of participation in training courses, the subject courses attended and the perception regarding the utility of training topics, of the civil servants

High Intensity Laser Power Beaming Architecture for Space and Terrestrial Missions

High Intensity Laser Power Beaming (HILPB) has been developed as a technique to achieve Wireless Power Transmission (WPT) for both space and terrestrial applications. In this paper, the system architecture and hardware results for a terrestrial application of HILPB are presented. These results demonstrate continuous conversion of high intensity optical energy at near-IR wavelengths directly to electrical energy at output power levels as high as 6.24 W from the single cell 0.8 cm2 aperture receiver. These results are scalable, and may be realized by implementing receiver arraying and utilizing higher power source lasers. This type of system would enable long range optical refueling of electric platforms, such as MUAV s, airships, robotic exploration missions and provide power to spacecraft platforms which may utilize it to drive electric means of propulsion

Comparison of Square and Radial Geometries for High Intensity Laser Power Beaming Receivers

In an effort to further advance a realizable form of wireless power transmission (WPT), high intensity laser power beaming (HILPB) has been developed for both space and terrestrial applications. Unique optical-to-electrical receivers are employed with near infrared (IR-A) continuous-wave (CW) semiconductor lasers to experimentally investigate the HILPB system. In this paper, parasitic feedback, uneven illumination and the implications of receiver array geometries are considered and experimental hardware results for HILPB are presented. The TEM00 Gaussian energy profile of the laser beam presents a challenge to the effectiveness of the receiver to perform efficient photoelectric conversion, due to the resulting non-uniform illumination of the photovoltaic cell arrays. In this investigation, the geometry of the receiver is considered as a technique to tailor the receiver design to accommodate the Gaussian beam profile, and in doing so it is demonstrated that such a methodology is successful in generating bulk receiver output power levels reaching 25 W from 7.2 sq cm of photovoltaic cells. These results are scalable, and may be realized by implementing receiver arraying and utilizing higher power source lasers to achieve a 1.0 sq m receiver capable of generating over 30 kW of electrical power. This type of system would enable long range optical "refueling" of electric platforms, such as MUAV s, airships, robotic exploration missions and provide power to spacecraft platforms which may utilize it to drive electric means of propulsion. In addition, a smaller HILPB receiver aperture size could be utilized to establish a robust optical communications link within environments containing high levels of background radiance, to achieve high signal to noise ratios

„MECANISMUL” DEZVOLTĂRII LOCALE

L`administration publique, par les services offerts, établit fortement des limites en cequi concerne l`existence de chaque individu tant de la perspective de la formationprofessionnelle que de son évolution/expression comme citoyen.Les conséquences de cette situation objective sont profondes et visent tant la partie(l`individu) que l`entier (la collectivité, la société), leurs état et évolution.Le niveau de la vie est seulment une mesure, un indicateur qui semble souvent vide decontenu au moment ou il est utilisé par les gouvernants pour la seule justification devant ceuxdont les intérêts généraux conduissent leur modalité de gestioner l`intérêt publique.La corélation directe, tranchante de la qualité de la prestation d`une administration(efficacité et efficience), semble plus appropriée, du point de vue des espérances de ceuxadministrés corelées au niveau de civilisation

Thermal Neutron Tomography for Cultural Heritage at INR

AbstractThe neutron and gamma imaging facility placed at the tangential channel of the TRIGA-ACPR from INR was used for tomography investigations on a test object with good results and shortly followed its involvement for tomography investigations on prehistoric statues of clay from the Arges County Museum. This activity was performed in connection with a research contract with IAEA with title “The neutron and gamma imaging method combined with neutron-based analytical methods for cultural heritage research”, in the frame of a current CRP, that helps curators to reveal the internal structure and composition of the objects. The detector system has been developed based on two interchangeable scintillators, one for thermal neutrons and the other one for gamma radiations, a mirror of float glass coated with aluminum and two interchangeable CCD cameras. Experiments of tomography imaging for two prehistoric statues of clay with CCD STARLIGHT XPRESS SXV-H9 camera with XD-4 type image intensifier are presented in this paper. The tomography reconstructions with Octopus software have shown the potential of good results even for 100 projections/1800. This was a good opportunity for the dissemination of the investigation methods based on neutrons for cultural heritage and beyond this area

Marketing and public sector performance. The case of National Institute of Administration (NIA) in Romania

The National Institute of Administration was established to handle issues of personnel training within the system of public administration in Romania. After a stage of progress (2002-2005), the existing conflict between top management leaders questioned the institute's existence, such as a reconstruction process has started, based on three strategies: development, human resources and marketing. The achievement of the last strategy was necessary mainly due to the competitive environment in which the institute is forced to exist. As a result, the application of those strategies led to enhanced performance and gaining the institute capacity to achieve the objectives it was created for. The NIA was the only central public institution in Romania that developed and implemented in 2006 a public marketing str ategy.National Institute of Administration, Public Administration Reform Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Mix, Lifelong Learning Programs