Analysis of websites belonging to public universities from the perspective of the democratic governance exigencies. A marketing research approach

The Democratic Governance Model generates a visible opening of institutions towards citizens. By analyzing ten digital communication offers made by Romanian state universities, we pursue to observe if any partnership relationship with their users is created, if their websites are conceived so as to facilitate the participation of students in the activity of the institution, to comply with the manifested needs and to invite to dialogue. The result of the research reveals different degrees of fidelity of the studied websites to the new management model.</p

Use of Fractal Analysis in the Evaluation of Deforested Areas in Romania

Spectacular spatial dynamics of forest areas is one of the biggest challenges for the scientific world, concerned with completing the methodologies devoted to new methodological approaches, to provide new information that is indispensable in assessing the impact of deforestation within the ecosystem. In this study, we analyzed the evolution of the deforested areas, using the fractal fragmentation index (FFI). The research is based on high-resolution satellite images of forest areas between 2000 and 2017. The use of fractal algorithms allowed the modeling of the grinding patterns, identifying obvious differences between compact and fragmented cuts. Information is needed especially in the evaluation of the areas cleared because of illegal actions. Research has shown spectacular increases in deforestation in the mountain area, the northern and central groups of the Eastern Carpathians being the most fragmented geographical regions in Romania. The study showed that deforestation led to the fragmentation of forests, which generates major natural changes. The results obtained can contribute to the identification of new approaches in national forest fund management policies by establishing a critical fragmentation threshold

Fertility in Romania: The Delay of the Second Gender Revolution

Abstract Fertility in Romania dropped rapidly after the collapse of the communist rule, placing the country among those with low fertility rates, and started to grow again after the year 2014. The paper approaches the dynamic of fertility in Romania, focusing on the period when fertility grew again. Using data from the semi-panel conducted by World Values Survey Romanian in 2012 and 2018, the paper looks at the changes in fertility in Romania based on micro-level data and studying trends in cohort fertility among women of fertile age and the drivers of these changes. The cohort analysis indicates that birth postponement is the main mechanism leading to the growth in fertility in Romania in the past decade. At the same time, the results provide support to the uncertainty explanation, the fear of job losing having negative impact on the number of children born by a woman. Altogether, the results suggest that Romania does not yet reach the second gender revolution, that has gender equality in private sphere at its core, fertility decision relying on traditional factors such as economic uncertainty and patriarchal model, with the male partner being the main breadwinner.</p

Oana Simona Hudea, Razvan-Mihail Papuc INTERNATIONAL MARKETING STRATEGIES IN THE GLOBALISATION ERA

Abstract This paper aims to present an overview of the international marketing characteristic

Patients’ Satisfaction With the Health Care Systemin the Age of Globalization: The Case of Romania

<p>Patients’ satisfaction with health care sys-tems has been a widely debated topic for both practitioners and researchers in the past de-cades. The aims of our paper are to present the theoretical approach about the concept of patients’ satisfaction and to analyze the results of a research concerning the satisfaction of the Romanian patients regarding health care ser-vices. To such ends, we tested seven assump-tions through a quantitative research based on a national survey done on health care benefcia-ries (1076). The data gathered was processed through the SPSS software. The fndings of our research show that pa-tients’ satisfaction is infuenced by the level of trustfulness of the medical staff, physicians and nurses’ professionalism, and the time spent waiting at the emergency units. A distinctive el-ement in the equation of the Romanian patients’ satisfaction is given by the corruption existing in the health care system. The fndings of the study indicate clear directions in rethinking the health care system, directions that may lead towards the development of a trustworthy climate and higher satisfaction with the health care services in Romania.</p

Exploring the Link between Academic Dishonesty and Economic Delinquency: A Partial Least Squares Path Modeling Approach

This paper advances the study of the relationship between the attitude towards academic dishonesty and other types of dishonest and even fraudulent behavior, such as tax evasion and piracy. It proposes a model in which the attitudes towards two types of cheating and fraud are systematically analyzed in connection with a complex set of latent construct determinants and control variables. It attempts to predict the tolerance towards tax evasion and social insurance fraud and piracy, using academic cheating as the main predictor. The proposed model surveys 504 student respondents, uses a partial least squares—path modeling analysis, and employs two subsets of latent constructs to account for context and disposition. The relationship between the outcome variable and the subset of predictors that account for context is mediated by yet another latent construct—Preoccupation about Money—that has been shown to strongly influence people’s attitude towards a whole range of social and economic behaviors. The results show academic dishonesty is a statistically significant predictor of an entire range of unethical and fraudulent behavior acceptance, and confirm the role played by both contextual and dispositional variables; moreover, they show that dispositional and contextual variables tend to be segregated according to how they impact the outcome. They also show that money priming does not act as a mediator, in spite of its stand-alone impact on the outcome variables. The most important result, however, is that the effect size of the main predictor is large. The contribution of this paper is two-fold: it advances a line of research previously sidestepped, and it proposes a comprehensive and robust model with a view to establish a hierarchy of significance and effect size in predicting deviance and fraud. Most of all, this research highlights the central role played by academic dishonesty in predicting the acceptance of any type of dishonest behavior, be it in the workplace, at home, or when discharging one’s responsibilities as a citizen. The results presented here give important clues as to where to start intervening in order to discourage the acceptance of deviance and fraud. Educators, university professors, and academic administrators should be at the forefront of targeted campaigns and policies aimed at fighting and reducing academic dishonesty

Understanding Consumer Stockpiling during the COVID-19 Outbreak through the Theory of Planned Behavior

We use the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate determinants of stockpiling behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown. We analyzed 518 responses to an online survey and used Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) techniques to estimate relationships between variables. Negative attitude (perceived barriers) and others’ behavior (descriptive social norms) were revealed as significant predictors for both intention to over-purchase and the actual stockpiling behavior. The lack of significance obtained for perceived behavioral control (PBC) is also an important result, strengthening the evidence that factors’ contribution to TPB’s predictive power is strongly context-dependent, respectively that PBC is less relevant in settings dominated by uncertainty. The lack of significance is especially compelling when stockpiling behavior is regarded as deviant conduct from effective consumption. Our findings expand the understanding on the applicability of TPB and offer informed practical suggestions for improving managerial strategies, public and private ones, during extreme events when self-regulation and cognitive control are expedient but hard to achieve

Determining forest fund evolution by fractal analysis (Suceava-Romania)

The main objective of this study is developing an analysis methodology for the forest fund dynamic. One of the most severe current issues which Romania faces is the extent of deforestation, under the pressure of economic activities, also affecting forest areas. The Global Forest Change 2000-2013 data, supplied by Maryland University, was used for the analyses conducted, being further subjected to a segmentation process, using the Colour Deconvolution plug-in of ImageJ 1.49s. The segmented images have been manually binarized, and based on the latter, the covered areas have been further calculated and expressed in km2. For this purpose, a macro was written, implemented in ImageJ 1.49s. The resulting binarized images have been fractal analyzed, using the software ImageJ 1.49s - FracLac 2015Mar6206 - Box-counting Fractal and Lacunarity Analysis. ArcGIS platform was used to draft the cartographic materials, justifying and supporting this study. The main results of this study comprise of the alarming increase in deforested areas and the large difference between official data and statistical data reported from the real field situation, which illustrates the high extent of illegal logging, reached lately. Coherent strategies for territorial management are highly required to reduce, halt and even fight against these illicit activities