How communism turned into history: Vladimir Tismăneanu as historian of Romanian communism

Fifteen years after its collapse, communism has undoubtedly become part of Romania's recent past. Although this period is now the historians' field of research, its study remains indebted to the pre-1989 evaluations made by western political scientists. Among those who contributed to the understanding of Romanian communism, Vladimir Tismăneanu features prominently. This essay reviews the concepts coined by this author -such as national Stalinism or dynastic communism- and underlines the interpretations he proposed for some particular episodes – such as the power struggle based on three centers or the emergence of Marxism revisionism as the prerequisite for internal liberalization

Resistance and dissent under communism: the case of Romania

'Obwohl es auch in Rumänien Dissidenten gab, beförderten deren Aktivitäten weder die Revolution von 1989, noch stellten sie während des frühen Postkommunismus eine Alternative zum Neo-Kommunismus bereit. Der vorliegende Aufsatz betrachtet die bemerkenswertesten Resistenz-Handlungen von Persönlichkeiten aus dem intellektuellen Milieu wie solche der Arbeiterschaft, um die Besonderheiten der politischen Subkulturen des mit Polen oder der Tschechoslowakei nicht vergleichbaren Widerstandes in Rumänien herauszuarbeiten. Wichtig ist, dass es solche Resistenzbewegungen auch hier überhaupt gab, obwohl eine Tradition der Teilhabe an der politischen Kultur völlig fehlte. Aus dieser Perspektive dienten im Dezember 1989 kritische Intellektuelle der großen Mehrheit dann doch als Beispiel.' (Autorenreferat

Tiago Veiga: para uma nova teoria da heteronímia

ABSTRACT •  Tiago Veiga: Towards a new theory of heteronomy. Brought into existence by Mário Cláudio, Tiago Veiga, the fourth and most recent heteronym in Portuguese literature, impresses not only with the complexity of his work and his tumultuous biography, but, above all, he excites through the numerous and extremely diverse heteronomic strategies through which his entire fictitious existence is masterminded. The veracity effect is attained and strengthened by appealing to the biographical genre which, despite expectations, undermines objective reality and truth, by the playful and fulminating destruction of evidence, by involving an entire army of photographs, able to manipulate and destabilize reality, in conquering the ”empire of image”, and by traversing an entire cultural century in order to establish a vast human network, capable of overcoming the boundaries of time and space. All these instruments, extremely carefully polished, reveal a plural and original heteronym that proves, once again, the strong imaginative capacity of Portuguese literature, eager to fulfill its potential of hyperbolic fictionalization and duplication

The "Letter of the Six": on the political (sub)culture of the Romanian communist elite

Using the concept of political culture, this article highlights that enduring patterns of thought and action governed the attitudes and the behavior of the Romanian communist elite since its coming to power and until the very end. Identity forming experiences from early periods, prior to the takeover and up to the Hungarian Revolution, decisively shaped the minds of the RCP leadership in such a way as to transform this party into the most monolithic in the entire Soviet bloc. Consequently, a reformist wing did not emerge from within the party ranks, as it happened in the other communist countries. This would directly influence not only the way in which communism collapsed in Romania, but also the transition from communism in this country. It was the revolution of 1989 that opposed for the first time a group of old-timers with reformist views to a dictator who hated reforms. In order to illustrate this thesis, the present study discusses the so-called "letter of the six" addressed to Nicolae Ceauşescu by six former members of the nomenklatura in March 1989. The article analyzes the conditions in which the protest emerged, the reaction of the regime when confronted with an unprecedented gesture, its impact on the Romanian population as well as abroad and, finally, its legacies in the post-communist period. The criticism of the supreme leader expressed in this letter did not provoke the revolution. It represented, however, the first reform communist manifesto in this country, and it expressed views that, through the post-1989 Romanian political elite, would become influential in the early days of post-communism, delaying the genuine democratic transition

BODY MASS INDEX IN RELATION TO PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS, SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND INDIVIDUAL`s PERCEPTIONS IN A REPRESENTATIVE POPULATION IN ROMANIA: A CASE-STUDY

Aim of study. In this study I investigated Body Mass Index (BMI) and its relation to personal characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity), social environment (marital status, place of study), and individual weight and activity level perceptions in a statistically representative population of students in Romania. Material and method. The method was observational inquiry (case-study) and consisted of a questionnaire with 60 items from which I considered only 9 items (Q1.a–gender, Q1–age, Q2–marital status, Q3–nationality, Q49.a–weight, Q50–height, Q53–perception of own weight, Q54–perception of activity type and Q60-place of study) applied in 13 universities to 1364 students (39.3% male, 60.7% female, aged 19-30 years). The questionnaire application lasted 30 minutes and the students completed it individually and anonymously. Consent was asked for and the aim of the study was explained to participants. The Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated using the Quetelet formula. Statistical work was performed using a SPSS 20 Program. Results. I found significant associations between: BMI– perception of the person’s own weight (χ2=449.95, Sig.=0.000; γ=0.84, Sig.=0.000), BMI-place of study (χ2=105.87, Sig.=0.000; γ=-0.15, Sig.=0.000), BMI-gender (Chi square–χ2=111.19, Sig.=0.000; gamma coefficient–γ=-0.56, Sig.=0.000) and BMI–marital status (χ2=24.28, Sig.=0.002; γ=0.27, Sig.=0.000). In conclusion a relation BMI–perception of the person’s own weight, BMI-social environment and BMI-gender is suggested

A Genderless Protest: Women Confronting Romanian Communism

Far from accomplishing its utopian plans of transforming society, communism did not turn gender equality into a reality either. This paper moves beyond the common-place approaches that simply underline the failures of this political system and presumes that women experienced communism in very diverse and often ambiguous ways, for public and private roles conflicted more often than not. From among the few individuals who dared to articulate critical thoughts on Romanian communism prior to its collapse of 1989, the present paper recuperates the experience of three women. Members of the urban educated elite, they believed nonetheless in different values and pursued different strategies of expressing discontent with the regime. These female critics of the communist system went beyond personal or group interests, but among the issues of public concern they raised none belonged to a feminist agenda. Yet, these women acted as if gender equality was a reality in Ceauşescu’s Romania: they considered themselves the equal partners of like-minded men, while their male peers accepted them as such, for equalitarian perceptions of genders shaped the public roles assumed by non-conformist Romanian intellectuals. The example of these three women does not prove that communism succeeded in redefining the status of women, but it illustrates how the urban educated social group experienced gender relations then. No feminists in thinking, these three women were so in their behavior. Their criticism of Ceauşescu’s communism was genderless, but it nonetheless strengthened the idea that women are no less than men

PARTICULARITIES OF THE MARKETING ACTIVITY IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY

In the insurance industry there is a new way of thinking which determined the passage from transactional marketing to a holistic marketing concept. In this paper five key elements of holistic marketing are presented: relationship marketing, integrated marholistic marketing in insurance, relationship marketing, integrated marketing, internal marketing, social responsibility marketing, international marketing, trust, customer loyalty, crisis

Transports and Consumers’ Ecological Behaviour

Transports certainly have positive economic and social effects. However, transports in general, and motor transports in particular play a significant role in environmental pollution, with a negative impact on the quality of life. In this article, we make a diagnosis on the contribution of transports to environmental pollution, especially through CO2 and green house gases emissions, on international and national levels, highlighting trends in transports evolution. Based on an ample research the article presents policies (commandand- control and incentive-based policies, physical, soft or knowledge policies etc.) meant to diminish the negative impact of auto transports on the quality of life. The last part of the article investigates, based on the direct market research, the current and future behaviours of transport services consumers in Bucharest, the way transport services are perceived, as well as the way different modalities of protection against the pollution caused by transport are assessed. Market research has generally revealed a pro-environmental behaviour, most of the subjects investigated agreeing with the measures focused on reducing pollution caused by transports. However, the survey results have shown that factors related to the environment and its protection are not very important when deciding to purchase a car.transport services, environmental pollution, consumer behaviour, survey

Activitatea de marketing in contextul noilor tendinte de pe piata asigurarilor

Asigurarile au capatat statutul de produse adresate unor nevoi primare, iar catastrofele din ultima vreme au aratat ca sunt indispensabile pentru mentinerea unui nivel ridicat al securitatii sociale, pentru protectia sanatatii si vietii persoanei, pentru protectia avutului acesteia. Principalele tendinte de pe piata mondiala a asigurarilor sunt globalizarea pietelor, tendintele de consolidare si de convergenta, precum si aparitia unor canale moderne de distributie. Tendintele actuale de pe piata mondiala a asigurarilor fac ca o alternativa viabila la marketingul global sa fie marketingul multicultural, deoarece activitatea de marketing in asigurari trebuie sa tina seama de caracteristicile particulare ale modului de perceptie, de atitudinea si comportamentul specific al consumatorilor din arii culturale diferite.globalizarea pietelor, tendinte pe piata asigurarilor, marketing in asigurari, marketing global, marketing multicultural, market globalization, trends on the insurance market, insurance marketing, global marketing, multicultural marketing