A European Perspective: 12 Impressions of Rural America

The author, a European Economic Community (EEC) official, traveled extensively throughout rural America for two and a half months in 1991 as part of an Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship. Intentionally avoiding purely factual descriptions, he presents his 12 impressions of rural development in the United States

THE PROCESS OF ACCESSION TO THE EU - THE CASE OF ROMANIA

This paper is the edited version of the speech given by Mr Enrico Grillo Pasquarelli at the European Institute of Romania on April 12, 2002. In his speech, Mr. Pasquarelli analyzes Romania’s situation in the larger context of the EU enlargement. The main argument throughout the speech is that accession is not about negotiations and transposition of the legislation, but it is about preparations at home. The lack of proper implementation and enforcement of EU conform legislation may result in a paper-only exercise which will further weaken the administrative capacity, resulting in the end in the inability of the Romanian economy to withstand competition in the Single Market. Romania still has to make progress in a number of areas such as civil service reform, independence of judiciary, corruption, environment, and economic reform, including agriculture. Positive developments can be noticed as well, such as a greater civic and democratic maturity of the Romanian society, and progress towards macroeconomic stability

Using Wearable Devices in a Healthcare Facility: An Empirical Study with Alzheimer's Patients

Smart Wearables are considered a very promising solution for monitoring and helping people affected by cognitive decline or dementia and, in particular, Alzheimer Disease (AD). Nonetheless, the acceptability and wearability of such devices for AD patients pose certain challenges. To address this, an empirical study has been conducted with a group of patients with mild to moderate AD, wearing wristbands E4 by Empatica for a duration of three months. The experiment has been integrated into the regular healthcare activities, with active involvement from nurses and physicians. The paper reports the feedbacks of the caregivers and discusses wearability and acceptability issues