WHAT IS THE PROGRESS OF EU CIRCULAR ECONOMIES?

Circular economy is becoming an increasing concern for specialists due to the benefits it can have upon the environment and people. Although there are no well-defined indicators according to which the progress of a circular economy can be quantified, there is more and more concern in the specialised literature. This paper attempts to measure such progress within the EU member states via an aggregate indicator based on the indicators ones issued by the Eurostat in the EC monitoring framework. The indicator has been determined in two variants: one where the states missing some statistical data have been removed and another where the zero value has been attributed to all circumstances of unavailable data. The different determination methods have revealed different values of the circular economy aggregate indicator as well as different approaches of the states

AN ECONOMIC APPROACH TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES: THE OLYMPIC MARKETING REVENUES

The Olympic Games (OG) are the world’s greatest sporting event, gathering athletes from more than 200 states. They bring into the spotlight not only the sports competitions featured on the Olympic program, but also the image of the host community and country, and each people’s culture and heritage. Lately, great emphasis has been placed on the economic component of the Olympic Games. This paper aims to outline OG economics through the funding programmes for the Olympic Movement. The timeline of this paper covers the period from 1993 until 2016. With every new edition, the Olympics raise more and more revenue, even if still falling short, by far, of the organisation costs incurred. The revenue generated by broadcasting the sporting events accounts for the largest share in the total income, as opposed to the licensing revenue, which is on the lowest end. Also, there is usually a significant difference between the summer OG and the winter OG, the former generating higher revenue

THE USE OF EXPERT SYSTEMS IN RURAL TOURISM IN MARAMURES

The existing accommodation in the rural Maramureș region is essential for the development of tourism. Most accommodation units are within the typology of rural tourist hostels, therefore special attention should be paid to promote and diversify their touristic offers. Despite its attractive potential, the rural tourism in Maramureș has its weaknesses because there is no organizational strategy for its deployment. Tour operators must adopt new solutions to promote tourist services, one of which may be using expert systems.The main purpose of this study is to develop a model of an expert system, applying new methodological approaches to the evaluation and ranking of countryside hostels in Maramureș. This model can be easily implemented with private and public entities and could be a source of significant benefits for them. Scientific literature in the field highlights the benefits of using expert systems in all business sectors and reinforces our conviction that they can be applied extensively in tourism as well. The research methodology included: defining the nature and scope of the problem, identifying experts, acquiring knowledge, selecting the system building tools, as well as encoding and evaluating the system. In the knowledge acquisition phase we used interviews, thus obtaining a database with information on countryside hostels in Maramureș. We turned to tourism professionals to establish expert rules in a way that reflects as accurately and completely as possible the context. These rules led to the encoding of the system. In order to encode them, we used the Corvid system, developed by Exsys, which was verified and validated. The system, once designed, provides a user-friendly interface. After being implemented in specialized sites, the system will be able to facilitate searching and finding information by users. We propose that the model obtained will be a starting point for further research, given that the development environment allows the system to be constantly updated. Using the system will enrich the knowledge database by storing user requirements, and the results thus obtained can be used for statistical calculations useful in determining future development strategies.The implementation of the proposed model in websites, through the assistance it provides, can attract customers both from our country and from the top tourism consumer countries of the European Union and around the world.Expert System , Exsys, Corvid, rural holiday hostels, Maramureș

ABOUT THE ROMANIAN TOYS AND GAMES MARKET

Toys and games are essential in the life of every child. Many of these contribute greatly to the children’s good physical and psychological development since they are especially designed for this purpose. The technological development inevitably gave rise to important changes in the supply of toy and game manufacturers. What characterises the current toys and games market is the continuing increase of the hi-tech toys and games industry, or of the so-called sophisticated toys and games. There are multiple explanations, but the analysts in the field refer mainly to the children’s 'age compression'. This paper aims at bringing into the readers’ attention important aspects of the toys and games market in general and of the market in Romania in particular. We intended to present the current situation of the Romanian market in the light of supply, demand and external trade. The presence of famous foreign brands causes the failure of Romanian manufacturers –few in number- in managing to achieve significant domestic market presence. However, they succeed in selling their products abroad where traditional and ecological toys and games are sought after. The main external partner of Romania in the toys and games industry is the EU

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN THE RESTRUCTURING AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ORGANIZATIONS

Many of the organizations that are part of the public and private domain in Romania have reached the stage in which the existing information systems can no longer comply with the requests of users. Therefore, we are compelled by necessity to use integrated information systems which should be able to control all kinds of data and to allow access to them, to ensure the coherence and consistency of the stored information. Managers must be aware of the importance of the implementation of integrated information systems in the background restructuring of the organization, which can thus become consistent and competitive with the European Union one, so the integration process becomes a real and possible one

THE USE OF EXPERT SYSTEMS IN RURAL TOURISM IN MARAMURES

The existing accommodation in the rural Maramures region is essential for the development of tourism. Most accommodation units are within the typology of rural tourist hostels, therefore special attention should be paid to promote and diversify their touristic offers. Despite its attractive potential, the rural tourism in Maramures has its weaknesses because there is no organizational strategy for its deployment. Tour operators must adopt new solutions to promote tourist services, one of which may be using expert systems.The main purpose of this study is to develop a model of an expert system, applying new methodological approaches to the evaluation and ranking of countryside hostels in Maramures. This model can be easily implemented with private and public entities and could be a source of significant benefits for them. Scientific literature in the field highlights the benefits of using expert systems in all business sectors and reinforces our conviction that they can be applied extensively in tourism as well. The research methodology included: defining the nature and scope of the problem, identifying experts, acquiring knowledge, selecting the system building tools, as well as encoding and evaluating the system. In the knowledge acquisition phase we used interviews, thus obtaining a database with information on countryside hostels in Maramures. We turned to tourism professionals to establish expert rules in a way that reflects as accurately and completely as possible the context. These rules led to the encoding of the system. In order to encode them, we used the Corvid system, developed by Exsys, which was verified and validated. The system, once designed, provides a user-friendly interface. After being implemented in specialized sites, the system will be able to facilitate searching and finding information by users. We propose that the model obtained will be a starting point for further research, given that the development environment allows the system to be constantly updated. Using the system will enrich the knowledge database by storing user requirements, and the results thus obtained can be used for statistical calculations useful in determining future development strategies.The implementation of the proposed model in websites, through the assistance it provides, can attract customers both from our country and from the top tourism consumer countries of the European Union and around the world