The tourist map, scientific tool that supports the exploration of protected areas, Bihor County, Romania

The study area is a Nature 2000 protected site from Bihor County, Romania. The present study aims at identifying the opportunities for the implementation of a bioeconomic exploitation system, by tourism development, according to its necessities for conservation and protection of cultural and natural elements. The landscape value is assessed, using different available thematic layers, using a combination of GIS and graphics. The resulting visibility of the tourist map of natural and anthropic values can be a very useful tool for tourists, the conservational custodian of the Nature 2000 site, local public administration for tourism development and leisure activities, participative touristic planning etc

CONSERVATING THE TRADITIONAL CELLARS OF SALACEA, BIHOR COUNTY, ROMANIA

This paper argues for the enhanced utilization of the built heritage in the case of the unique cellars of Salacea, Bihor Country which is called „the village of 1000 cellars„. The research analysis of the cellars includes field investigations, study of existing bibliography, air-photo interpretation. For examining the architectureal plans, facades and volumes use was made of software such as: Archicad 22 R1 INT version 22.0.0.3006, Artlantis (2017) 6.5 version 6.5.2.14, Adobe Illustrator CC (2017) version 21.1.0 and Adobe Photoshop CC (2015) version 16.1, and for processing the photos Adobe Lightroom version 6.12. Cartographic materials have been processed in 3D Studio Max, Corel Draw and Corel Photopaint. The use of spatial data allowed identification and analysis of important aspect for understanding the territorial reality. The study identifies two authentic models of cellars that could be exploited for their heritage potential for tourism development and a source of income for the local area

Considerations Regarding the Research for the Conservation of Heritage Textiles in Romania

Textiles are valuable elements that make up Romania’s cultural heritage, being unique through the production techniques, materials used and their significance for the Romanian population. Heritage textiles represent bridges between past and present, kept in collections from different types of buildings. Many of them are preserved and exposed in heritage buildings that are open for public viewing and do not benefit from internal microclimate monitoring systems. These things can have serious repercussions on the integrity and conservation status of these fragile materials. The chapter proposes to analyze the approaches used in different studies to evaluate the risks to which the historical textile collections from Romania are exposed, depending on the place and the way in which they are kept. All these approaches aim to determine the degree of conservation of the materials and their implications on the health of the people with whom they come into contact. Based on the methodology applied in the studies already published, examined in the first part of the chapter, in the second part, a case study was performed on a different sample of historical textiles from Romania. This comes to complete the sphere of knowledge in the field

The Use of Virtual Reality to Promote Sustainable Tourism: A Case Study of Wooden Churches Historical Monuments from Romania

The accelerated development and expansion of cultural tourism in areas with unique tourist objectives, characterised by a high degree of risk in terms of their physical and chemical integrity, requires sustained efforts by all stakeholders to identify new methods, techniques, and procedures for their conservation, protection, and capitalisation, with respect to tourism. The aim of this study was to propose an optimal methodology for capitalising on tourism related to wooden churches, regarded as a structural item of tangible cultural heritage, with positive effects on the protection, conservation, information, and awareness of all stakeholders in tourism development. This involved the development of a web portal, in which were integrated the 3D models related to the analysed objects, the panoramic images inside them, the audio support, the photographs, and the accompanying text necessary to create and render a virtual reality (VR) production for purposes of virtual tourism (VT). The results obtained consisted of the creation of the website Bihor360°, which is freely navigable and whose content, including both textual and graphic information, can be easily accessed by all interested users. The aim involved was to release an online bridge for potential visitors to the fragile tourist attractions, facilitating the development of active knowledge and VR while raising awareness among the population and the local authorities about the role and the importance of the wooden churches in tourism and the local economy

The patrimony of wooden churches, built between 1531 and 2015, in the <i>Land of Maramureș</i>, Romania

<p>The map and temporal scale of the territory known as ‘The Land of Maramureș’ outlines a real heritage treasure, built in historical time and formed of 74 wooden churches. Varying in terms of architecture, dimensions and cult, the wooden churches are indeed heritage objects, 33 of them being on the list of historical monuments in Romania, while 5 are included in the UNESCO world heritage list. An impressive database, which includes the edifices built during 1531–2015 period, is processed, analyzed, synthesized and mapped in this project. By using cartographic methods and specific programs (ArcGis, CorelDRAW), suggestive pictograms are generated, expressing relevant elements for the proposed purpose: spatiality, a series of technical details (height, architectural style, etc.), monument type and oldness. Such a complex material is useful in the process of territorial planning and organization from the point of view of those concerned with issues of urban development and tourism as well as for the general public as well.</p

RESEARCH ON THE PROFESSIONAL TRAJECTORY OF THE HIGHSCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FROM THE FIELDS OF GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The present study is meant to monitor the professional trajectory of highschool and university students who benefited from professional counselling and guidance in order to identify the occupational niches and to improve the educational behaviour present in the professional training process of the future graduates. We used the method of the sociological survey (questionnaire based) and the quantitative method of collecting and analysing data

Methodological Aspects Regarding the Quantification of the Role Of Tourism Promotion Centers in Creating the Destination Image in Romania

The present study aims to create and implement a methodology for the quantification of the functions performed by the tourist information and promotion centers in the creation of the tourist destination image. This desideratum comes from the need for a judicious allocation of the resources needed for the building and operation of such structures in close correlation with the need for their implementation taking into account the spatial distribution. Thus, starting from 10 defining indicators (10 attributions), a quantification model of the National Tourist Information and Pomotion Centre (TIPC) role was made on four value levels (insignificant, minor, medium and major), a model that was then applied to all NTIPCs respondents in Romania. According to the methodology developed in the present study, on a general level, it is clear that NTIPCs have a minor role in creating and promoting the image of tourist destination, while at the particular level, there is a relatively similar situation, with the existence of particularities defining them, which are detached from the analysis of each tourist information and promotion center

Approaches regarding the importance of Natura 2000 sities’ settings pupil’s education through geography. Case study: Valea Rose (Red Valley) Natura 2000, Bihor country

The setting of Natura 2000 sites in order to conserve, promote and exploit them as distinctive areas, is both a prerequisite and an opportunity regarding pupils` education also through geography as a discipline. In this context, the present paper aims to outline some practical and theoretical aspects towards familiarizing pupils with the necessity of protecting the environment, to use and depict tourist maps, to use spatial orientation, to recognize various species of plants and dwelling within Red Valley Nature 2000 site, in Bihor county

The Initial Development and Evaluation of Cross-Linked Casein Films for Sustainable Footwear

To increase the sustainability of footwear and align it with the circular bioeconomy, there is a pressing need to develop novel bio-based materials to replace the synthetic polymers currently used. In this study, casein-based films were prepared by solution casting with a tannic acid cross-linker, and a glycerol plasticizer. The properties important to footwear materials were characterised, including tensile strength and elongation, stitch strength, hardness, grain cracking strength, water vapour permeability, and thermal properties. The tannic acid imparted a brown colour to the films with good resistance to light-induced fading. Their tensile strengths were 4&ndash;5 N/mm2, elongation at break 45%&ndash;73%, and water vapour permeability 0.2&ndash;0.6 mg/(cm2h), depending upon the levels of the cross-linker and plasticiser. The strength of the films was close to those of some non-leather footwear materials such as compact rubbers and insock materials, but below that required for leather shoe vamps/uppers. The casein films were successfully used in sneaker- and ballerina-style shoes as components of the insock and decorative design elements on the vamp. This work has demonstrated the concept of using casein films in footwear. The properties of the films could be improved by further research, particularly with respect to cross-linking, plasticizing, and combining with bio-based fibers and fabrics

Monitoring Forest Cover Dynamics Using Orthophotos and Satellite Imagery

The assessment of changes in forest coverage is crucial for managing protected forest areas, particularly in the face of climate change. This study monitored forest cover dynamics in a 6535 ha mountain area located in north-west Romania as part of the Apuseni Natural Park from 2003 to 2019. Two approaches were used: vectorization from orthophotos and Google Earth images (in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019) and satellite imagery (Landsat 5 TM, 7 ETM, and 8 OLI) pre-processed to Surface Reflectance (SR) format from the same years. We employed four standard classifiers: Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC), Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), and three combined methods: Linear Spectral Unmixing (LSU) with Natural Breaks (NB), Otsu Method (OM) and SVM, to extract and classify forest areas. Our study had two objectives: 1) to accurately assess changes in forest cover over a 17-year period and 2) to determine the most efficient methods for extracting and classifying forest areas. We validated the results using performance metrics that quantify both thematic and spatial accuracy. Our results indicate a 9% loss of forest cover in the study area, representing 577 ha with an average decrease ratio of 33.9 ha/year−1. Of all the methods used, SVM produced the best results (with an average score of 88% for Overall Quality (OQ)), followed by RF (with a mean value of 86% for OQ)