Empirical Evidences on Foreign Tourist Demand Perception on Bucharest

Tourism is one of the most dynamic economic sectors, largely influenced by consumer’s perception and overall satisfaction. Tourism destinations are very complex being determined by many attributes. They are often perceived before the visit and confirmed or contradicted as attractive places by tourists’ experiences which determine their loyalty toward them. Our study depicts the incoming tourists’ perception upon Bucharest, the elements leading to it and the degree into which they are satisfied and would come back. Literature research, official statistics and a survey addressed to in-bound tourists were the main sources for collecting data, further on quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed using appropriate software solutions in order to detach a before and an after visit opinion on Bucharest. The research results show the fact that a dominantly negative perception on the tourist destination of Bucharest, formed before the visit, suffers an obvious post-consume change. As a consequence of their positive experiences during the visit most incoming tourists declare their intent to include Romania on their list of future holiday destinations. These results may be used by both academics and practitioners as a valid argument for further in-depth marketing studies and better oriented branding and promotional strategies aiming tourism development for Bucharest

ICT DETERMINING FACTORS IN INCREASING THE INNOVATION IN ROMANIA

In order to develop competitiveness, to strengthen the economic position in front of the social challenges of the 21st century (which include: climate changes, energy resources, health and aging), large and sustained efforts are made at the European Union level regarding the innovation. This paper investigates how the frequency of computer use by individuals can be linked to the innovation level, in order to establish an ICT determining factor for growing the innovation. The results show that the encouragement of ICT absorption by the individuals can yield to a growth in the innovation level, thus minimizing the gap between Romania and the European Union developed countries.innovation, ICT, correlation, UE 2020 initiative

E-GOVERNMENT: A DRIVING FACTOR FOR STIMULATING INNOVATION PERFORMANCE IN ROMANIA?

The development of public services is one of the priorities on the agendas of all policies, both national and European. One of the most recent concerns of the European Commission, as shown in the 2010 Innobarometer, is to find ways and develop strategies to support the innovation in the public administration sector, in the context of the continuously changing economic background. In this paper, we'll investigate the relationship between e-Government, and the overall innovation performance at national level, for some European Union countries. e-Government is already a known concept, widespread in the world, promoting the implementation of information and communication technologies in the public administration, in order to provide better public services to citizens and businesses. A main component of the e-Government concept is the "counter reform", aimed to streamlining administrative act quickly in order to respond to the demands of citizens, businesses and government structures. Innovation in e-Government will be measured with two Eurostat indicators - "e-Government on-line availability" and "e-Government usage by individuals" - while for the overall innovation performance we'll use a composite indicator - the Summary Innovation Index (SII) - from the Innovation Union Scoreboard (IUS). In Romania, even if the values of these indicators are not at the level of other EU countries, we can say that the situation has improved and electronic public services are being used increasingly often. The study also includes a comparison between two "modest innovators": Romania and Bulgaria. Regarding the overall innovation performance, according to the 2010 Innovation Union Scoreboard ranking, Romania is the leader of the "modest innovators" countries, overcoming Latvia, Bulgaria and Lithuania. However, in the field of e-Government our country has major shortcomings. Romania has registered a significant progress in the years after the EU integration, followed by a setback in 2009, still having values below those of other EU countries, including Bulgaria.innovation, e-Government, public sector, SII, correlation

IMPLEMENTING E-LEARNING IN THE ROMANIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM - A PRIORITY IN THE CONTEXT OF EU INTEGRATION

This paper intends to examine the development of e-Learning in Romania and to evaluate the gap between Romania and other members of the European Union (EU). Considering that Romania is part of the EU since 2007, it is imperative to achieve, in the shortest possible time, a real convergence with other member states. This requires finding the most effective ways to accelerate the development and increase the competitiveness. Using extensive IT&C technologies represent such a way, and public services – education, too – are among the development priorities on the agendas of all policies, both nationally and European. Thus, the subject treated in the paper is not only present but also of strategic importance for the immediate future of Romania.e-learning, e-education, IT&C

A review of mental models research in child-computer interaction

AbstractResearch in cognitive science, science education, and developmental psychology has long investigating how children, based on their everyday experience, construct mental models of the world they live in. This paper provides a review of the research investigating the nature of mental models in the context of child-computer interaction, review elicitation techniques used within the field, and discusses its potential to further inform the design process. Exploring children's mental models of new technologies may bring about some further understanding in their cognitive and conceptual development, thus promting parents and teachers to guide them in exploring the new technological environment

Allergy skin testing with nonirritating concentrations of anesthetic agents

Immediate hypersensitivity reactions to anesthetic agents are rare, but with a worrying morbidity and mortality rate. Allergy evaluation is mandatory when hypersensitivity reactions to anaesthetic agents are suspected. Skin prick tests and intradermal tests are important tools due to their clinical utility in establishing the diagnosis of IgE-mediated hypersensitivity and evaluation of cross-reactivity. This article presents, for informational purposes only, the nonirritating concentrations of general anesthetics and adjuvant agents, neuromuscular blocking agents and agents used in local and regional anesthesia, used in clinical practice for allergy skin testing according to international guidelines. The delayed hypersensitivity adverse reactions can be assessed by patch testing. Concentrations used for such skin testing with topical anesthetic agents from the European baseline series, international comprehensive baseline series and medicament series, are also presented

Razas locales ante emergencias ambientales: desempeño y aportes a partir del repoblamiento con Cabras Criollas Neuquinas en Patagonia, Argentina.

Río Negro’s Southern Line (Argentinean Patagonia) is an area characterized by its arid and semiarid climate and subject to extreme natural events, such as droughts, heavy snows and volcanic eruptions which generated ashes deposit. These factors sharply decreased livestock production (extensive animal husbandry is the main productive activity) compromising peasant’s persistence.Towards this situation, a restocking initiative with Neuquén Criollo goats has been developed from public institutions and producers’ associations. This breed was selected by its rusticity and ability to produce in conditions of fodder shortages and extreme climate and they were available in a near area (Northern Neuquén). Even there were productive records in the region, species and breeds historically predominant have been Merino sheep and Angora goats. In this paper we analysed this restocking initiative, particularly the productive changes, the labour organization, and the contributions to the peasant families’ economy. Results show that Neuquén Criollo Goats have adapted to the zone and did not generate management problems, as they were based on their own peasants’ knowledge and the one shared with Neuquén’s herders. They contributed to provide meat for home consumption, caused new incomes from kids allowing economy diversification with new products, as cashmere, milk (cheese) and leather. Peasant’s highlight the possibility to maintain the productive activity in a family level, including the return of members that have migrated. Thus, it is evident that local breeds can give an immediate response to achieve food security and contribute to the persistence of the rural population.La Línea Sur de Río Negro (Patagonia, Argentina) es una zona caracterizada por su clima árido-semiárido de secano y sujeta a eventos naturales extremos, como sequías y nevadas abundantes. Estos factores impulsaron la pérdida de stock ganadero (principal actividad productiva), comprometiendo la persistencia de las familias campesinas. Frente a esta situación, se desarrolló desde instituciones estatales y asociaciones de productores la iniciativa de repoblamiento con Cabras Criollas Neuquinas. Esta raza fue elegida por su rusticidad y habilidad para producir en condiciones de escasez de forraje y clima extremo y su disponibilidad en un área cercana (norte de Neuquén). Si bien había antecedentes de su producción en la región, las especies y razas históricamente predominantes han sido los ovinos Merino y las cabras Angora. En este trabajo se analiza esta iniciativa de repoblamiento, específicamente los cambios productivos, la organización del trabajo y las contribuciones en la economía de las familias campesinas. Los resultados demuestran que las Cabras Criollas Neuquinas se adaptaron a la zona y no generaron dificultades de manejo, basándose en los saberes campesinos propios y compartidos con los crianceros neuquinos. Contribuyeron en la provisión de carne para el autoconsumo, generaron nuevos ingresos a partir de la venta de crías y permitieron la diversificación de sus economías con nuevos productos, como cashmere, leche (queso) y cuero. Los campesinos destacaron la posibilidad de sostener la actividad productiva en el ámbito familiar, incluyendo el retorno de miembros que habían migrado. Así, se evidencia que las razas locales pueden dar respuesta inmediata para procurar la seguridad alimentaria y contribuir a la continuidad de la población rural

Simultaneous Enhancement of Flame Resistance and Antimicrobial Activity in Epoxy Nanocomposites Containing Phosphorus and Silver-Based Additives

The design and manufacture of innovative multifunctional materials possessing superior characteristics, quality and standards, rigorously required for future development of existing or emerging advanced technologies, is of great importance. These materials should have a very low degree of influence (or none) on the environmental and human health. Adjusting the properties of epoxy resins with organophosphorus compounds and silver-containing additives is key to the simultaneous improvement of the flame-resistant and antimicrobial properties of advanced epoxy-based materials. These environmentally friendly epoxy resin nanocomposites were manufactured using two additives, a reactive phosphorus-containing bisphenol derived from vanillin, namely, (4-(((4-hidroxyphenyl)amino)(6-oxido-6H-dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphinin-6-yl)methyl)-2-methoxyphenyl) phenylphosphonate (BPH), designed as both cross-linking agent and a flame-retardant additive for epoxy resin; and additional silver-loaded zeolite L nanoparticles (Ze–Ag NPs) used as a doping additive to impart antimicrobial activity. The effect of BPH and Ze–Ag NPs content on the structural, morphological, thermal, flame resistance and antimicrobial characteristics of thermosetting epoxy nanocomposites was investigated. The structure and morphology of epoxy nanocomposites were investigated via FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In general, the nanocomposites had a glassy and homogeneous morphology. The samples showed a single glass transition temperature in the range of 166–194 °C and an initiation decomposition temperature in the range of 332–399 °C. The introduction of Ze–Ag NPs in a concentration of 7–15 wt% provided antimicrobial activity to epoxy thermosets

Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia via the ENIGMA consortium

Left-right asymmetry is an important organizing feature of the healthy brain that may be altered in schizophrenia, but most studies have used relatively small samples and heterogeneous approaches, resulting in equivocal findings. We carried out the largest case-control study of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia, using MRI data from 5,080 affected individuals and 6,015 controls across 46 datasets in the ENIGMA consortium, using a single image analysis protocol. Asymmetry indexes were calculated for global and regional cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume measures. Differences of asymmetry were calculated between affected individuals and controls per dataset, and effect sizes were meta-analyzed across datasets. Small average case-control differences were observed for thickness asymmetries of the rostral anterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus, both driven by thinner left-hemispheric cortices in schizophrenia. Analyses of these asymmetries with respect to the use of antipsychotic medication and other clinical variables did not show any significant associations. Assessment of age- and sex-specific effects revealed a stronger average leftward asymmetry of pallidum volume between older cases and controls. Case-control differences in a multivariate context were assessed in a subset of the data (N = 2,029), which revealed that 7% of the variance across all structural asymmetries was explained by case-control status. Subtle case-control differences of brain macro-structural asymmetry may reflect differences at the molecular, cytoarchitectonic or circuit levels that have functional relevance for the disorder. Reduced left middle temporal cortical thickness is consistent with altered left-hemisphere language network organization in schizophrenia