Who’s walking on the Silk Road? EU’s Policy at the Black Sea Region: from Bilateral to Regional Approach

Black Sea region is today the geopolitical attraction for both the United States and the European Union after being under the Soviet Union for more than 4 decades. The countries in the region have started to become pro-European but the Union seems to change its bilateral policy approach with a more regional approach. The political swift has done some history in the case of the Western Balkans, where the EU has first tried its regional approach with a bilateral flavor. The conditionality sets and rules applied in the case of the Western Balkans states could be also used in the case of the Black Sea bordering countries. However, both the European Union and the countries here must first find the incentives and the strenght to get involved into a long term relationship, as it is the relationship between Brussels and the Balkans. In the same time, the events in the Balkans set trends within the Black Sea region. European geopolitical, economic and security interests demand clear answers to questions like: “how will the dual EU’s approach differ from the approach used in the case of the Western Balkans?”, “What are the special features of the region that the Union should take into account?”. In order to properly answer all these, the EU has first to answer the question "Why the Black Sea region?".

Feasibility study of g factor measurements in exotic nuclei using fission reactions

The g-factors of microsecond isomers in neutron-rich nuclei produced in fission reactions were investigated at the FRagment Separator (FRS) at GSI and at the Lohengrin mass separator at the ILL reactor, Grenoble. The mass separators were used in both cases to select and identify unambiguously the recoiling fission fragments. The time-dependent perturbed angular distribution (TDPAD) method was applied in combination with the ion-gamma correlation technique to measure the g-factors of isomeric levels in 126Sn (I=7-, T1/2=5.9(8)us) and 127Sn (I=19/2+, T1/2=4.5(3)us) produced in relativistic fission at GSI and 98Y (I=4-, T1/2=8.0(2)us) and 136Xe (I=6+, T1/2=2.95(9)us) produced in a thermal-neutron-induced fission reaction at ILL. In all four investigated nuclei the half-lives determined for the isomeric levels of interest from the present data sets were found to be in good agreement with the values reported in literature. However, in order to apply the TDPAD technique to extract the g-factors of isomeric states, spin-alignment is very important. Unfortunately, no spin-alignment was observed for the states of interest in 98Y (I=4-) and 136Xe (I=6+) produced in a thermal-neutron-induced fission at ILL. This can be explained by the fact that in such a reaction the spin-alignment produced initially was lost during the transportation and separation process through the recoil mass separator. Thus, a determination of the g-factors for the isomeric levels of interest was not possible in this case. The measurement performed at GSI constitutes the first experimental observation of spin-alignment in a relativistic fission reaction. This allowed the measurement of the g-factors for the isomeric 7- and 19/2+ states in the neutron-rich nuclei 126Sn and 127Sn, respectively. A good agreement was obtained between the experimental values, g_exp(7-;126Sn)=-0.097(3) and |g_exp|(19/2+;127Sn)=0.163(10), and those calculated in the framework of shell-model, confirming the proposed n (h^-1_11/2 d^-1_3/2)]7- and [(5-x nh^-1_11/2)]19/2+ quasiparticle configurations, respectively, for the two isomers investigated in the present work

Sustainable Success in Higher Education by Sharing the Best Practices as a Result of Benchmarking Process

The paper proposes to review the main benchmarking criteria, based on the quality indicators used by the higher education institutions and to present new indicators of reference as a result of the inter-universities cooperation. Once these indicators are defined, a national database could be created and through benchmarking methods, there could be established the level of national performance of the educational system. Going forward and generalizing the process, we can compare the national educational system with the European one, using the benchmarking approach. The final purpose is that of establishing a group of universities who come together to explore opportunities for benchmarks and best practices sharing on common interest areas in order to create a „quality culture” for the Romanian higher education system.benchmarking, higher education, best practices, quality indicators, quality culture

The Quality of Educational Services in Higher Education – Assurance, Management or Excellence?

The present paper has as its target to present the regulations characterizing the quality of educational services in higher education, with a view to identifying the system which is the most efficient and revealing for their real quality. This approach also takes into account the central role that key intellectual and cultural responsibilities play in the development of modern society, as well as the moral impact of higher education on society as a whole. The authors reach the conclusion that, in order to have real quality in higher education, it is important to introduce a quality management system and to constantly improve it, using as feedback the satisfaction of clients and other interested parties, with the intention of attaining performance and excellence.excellence, performance, quality management, quality assurance, quality indicators

Considerations of Health Tourism in Braila

The author aims at highlighting the conditions that lead to exploitation of the region Lake Sarat spa. Located in the eastern part of Romania, in Baragan North, the resort is located at a distance of only 5.5 km from the city of Braila. Surrounded by a park of 40 ha (30 ha and 10 ha forest green area), which provides a framework both the monumentality very picturesque, and by old, Salt Lake Resort is a true oasis of greenery with beneficial effects on the human body. Building fund has grown over the past 30 years, achieving adequate facilities for tourism and spa treatment. As shown current zoning functions, the resort is only about 50% recovered in terms of space, ie to the northeast. Otherwise, there are areas that do not fulfill the role of recreational green spaces

International Perspectives on Practice and Research into Children's Rights

"The discussion in this book take into account the need for not only focusing on individual perspectives and practices but also examining the social structures that impact on children's rights

Standards and Performance Indicators in Higher Education in Romania

The issue of quality in higher education has been given attention in the academic and legislative environment starting with the Bologna Process. Up to that moment, everyone considered it their duty as a professor to keep up a certain academic standard, which was in fact synonymous with a high quality of the message sent to the students in a manner assumed to be impeccable. It was normal then, as it is now, to present the latest developments in a given domain at the lecture, what you considered to be the most interesting aspects, and to assess whether you have reached your goal by the audience's reactions. It was normal to openly hold a lecture, to ask and be asked questions. However, society has evolved and certainties are needed nowadays instead of assumptions, as far as quality is concerned. The Bologna process has changed higher education not only in terms of structure, but also in terms of the place that quality assurance holds in the activity of a university. Together with the Bologna Process, the Lisbon Strategy has led to the development and consolidation of universities, with a view to instating a quality culture, to providing confidence in educational services, as well as transparency and a continuous enhancement of quality [2, 6]

The Development of the Romanian Academic Research on the Academy of Economic Studies

Interdisciplinary academic research is one way to improve education quality via research as this implies scientific development, incorporating high technology into academic processes as well as formulating innovation-driven processes and services. Having these objectives in mind, the current project seeks to act along two major directions: on the one hand, improving the quality of academic research, on the other hand boosting its efficiency and noteworthiness on a world scale. The first vista aims to strengthen academic research capacities, which must be achieved by having education processes meet knowledge-based economy exigencies. From the perspective of this research under discussion, this paper explores the effects of European integration on the quality of Romanian economic higher education in its positioning on the European educational market and the attempts to define its specific profile in the central and eastern-European area. The authors raise questions regarding the roles universities want to play in the future, regarding the awareness towards the needs of the institutions, the needs of the teaching and research staff and, mainly, the needs of the students. On a particularly aggressive market, it becomes necessary that Romanian academic research and higher education on the Academy of Economic Studies should reflect on the first lessons which the new status of the country's European Union membership gives to the Romanian prestigious universities

The Impact of Childhood Symptoms of Conduct Disorder on Driver Aggression in Adulthood

Background: Despite limited empirical investigation, existing scientific literature suggests that individuals with a history or current diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) may be more likely to demonstrate reckless and aggressive driving. Much of the limited research in this field examines the impact of childhood CD on driver behaviour and collision risk in young adults. Few, if any, studies assess the impact of this disorder on driver behaviour beyond age 21 years. The current research is a population-based study of the impact of CD symptoms during childhood on the risk of engaging in driver aggression during adulthood. Methods: Data are based on telephone interviews with 5,230 respondents who reported having driven in the past year. Data are derived from the 2011-2013 cycles of the CAMH Monitor, an ongoing cross-sectional survey of adults inOntario,Canada aged 18 years and older. A binary logistic regression analysis of self-reported driver aggression in the previous 12 months was conducted, consisting of measures of demographic characteristics, driving exposure, problem substance use, alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and childhood (before age 15) symptoms of CD. Results: When entered with demographic characteristics, driving exposure, and other potential confounders, childhood symptoms of CD increased the odds of reporting driver aggression more than two-fold (adjusted OR=2.12). Exploratory analyses of the interaction between childhood symptoms of CD and age was not a significant predictor of driver aggression. Conclusions: Results suggest that symptoms of CD during childhood are associated with significantly increased odds of self-reported driver aggression during adulthood. Limitations and future directions of the research are discussed