Andreea-Maria Tirziu

Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is a retroviral infection, common throughout the world, the evolution of which causes huge economic losses due to decreased milk production, weight loss and death of infected animals. Given the great economic importance of this disease, as well as the fact that the pathogenesis and dynamics of the immune response in EBL are not fully elucidated, the study aimed to investigate the presence of the bovine leukosis virus in animals that were declared healthy following clinical examination, by two classical serological methods, namely the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID). It was also observed the correlation between the optical densities (OD) in the ELISA and the confirmation of the disease by gel immunodiffusion. For this, samples were taken from cattle, which were examined by ELISA (Ingezim BLV Compac 2.0 - Competition/Blocking Leukosis Kit), respectively by gel immunodiffusion (LEBCONTROL kit).

World population is continuously and rapidly growing, urban areas representing the future. Citizens’ needs and requirements are becoming the focus points of urban development strategies. Therefore, developing sustainable strategies is essential for boosting the creation and development of more inclusive communities. This paper aims to present various ways in which urbanization is changing the world as we know it, smart urban planning contributing to smart urban areas’ development, formed by strong inclusive communities, giving as example different cities around the globe that have implemented successful projects. The methodology used to carry out this research is both bibliographic – opting to study and present the work of specialists in the field, authors from Romania and abroad, and empirical – formed by a case study on various smart cities around the world that have found ways to cope with the new change the world is facing today. The digital space is starting to be a very important issue in the evolution of smart cities, contributing at facilitating and improving the relationship between state and citizens. Although technology is a significant element, citizens and public institutions must be open to collaborate in order to find and implement the best solutions for solving communities’ problems.

A main characteristic of smart cities is the use of information and communications technology in all aspects of city life. In this regard, Internet of Things (IoT) is a core element in the process of developing communities “ruled” by an improved communication, better understanding and wait times decrease. This paper aims to present the ways in which IoT networks and services can contribute to develop smart cities, giving as example various cities that have implemented this concept. The methodology used to carry out this research is both bibliographic – opting here to study the work of specialists in the field, authors from Romania and abroad, and empirical – formed by a case study on various smart cities around the world that use IoT. This type of smart cities is starting to transform all public institutions, changing their culture, from one control-based to one performance-centered. IoT is starting to play an important role in smart cities’ evolution and it brings an improvement in the government-citizens relationship. We have identified that although technology is a central element, there should also be considered the capability and willingness of citizens and public institutions to collaborate in order to implement the best solutions for the communities.

Although the smart city concept is rather old, the literature fails in defining it properly – however, most, if not all, scholars are sharing the same idea: a main characteristic of smart cities is the use of information and communications technology in all aspects of city life. All of the actors actively involved in building a smart city (and we mention here academia, IT professionals and municipalities’ officials) are trying to build up a common definition, but until now they were not successful. However, many smart city rankings have been made by different researchers from various fields of activity. In this paper we will use the indicators that were found as being common in some of those rakings (made by prestigious institutions) in order to find the most common features of a smart city. Our intention is to suggest a model of a smart city based on the existing international experiences and to offer it for study to municipalities’ officials in Romania and other countries in the region. The main research method will be a quantitative one (based, as we have already mentioned, on the common indicators used in building international rakings), but we will use a qualitative one as well in order to highlight, as study cases, few of the most notorious examples of smart cities.

We are used to look at geographical, economic, political or even religious maps of our planet. Cybernetics, which is a relatively new science that forcedly makes its way through already existing sciences, it is creating its own map. Obviously, despite the young age, its complexity does not permit detailing of each component. This article focuses on the digital divide on the European continent. Starting from an analysis on local communities in Romania from 2010 up till now, the intention to extend the study to the entire region and then to the whole continent did not take long to appear, but unfortunately the complexity and lack of resources are proving to be a great barrier. In spite of this, we analysed at a national level (using a series of criteria proposed by the ECDL Foundation, together with those proposed by UNESCO and adapted according to the literature studied) all European countries, which possess as we know, important similarities and differences related to their political, social, and economic contexts. As a result, we created a map of the level of information technology's adoption amongst population. The research question this study investigates is how contextual features serve to influence the adoption of technology among different countries in Europe – focusing in particular at Romania. Due to the fact that high dispersion of results for indicators within the same country raises many questions, we conclude saying that the success of IT&C projects is to a large extent contingent upon political and economic contexts, while being less related to social contexts. The article also wants to be a scientific debates initiator, whose purpose is to present, in a formal framework: university courses, conferences, seminars, solutions and strategies of increasing the value of the indicators in question.

In a country where nearly half the population lives in rural areas, it is difficult to link concepts such as smart cities, Internet of Things to the local government’s priority list. However, lately there have been numerous initiatives to improve access to information using ICT in the rural communities as well. The purpose of this article is not to exhaustively measure the already adopted means, but merely to provide a series of items retrieved as barriers to ICT projects meant to develop these communities. Following the studies conducted so far (in Romania there are about 2,700 communes – the lowest administrative entities of our country), it was observed that the digital divide is found in 100% of these areas. At the urban level – especially in the big cities, pilot projects for developing digital literacy among the elder population had a relatively high success. Such programs have been initiated at the level of the communes whose living standard is higher (the ones that are located near large cities). Their successes, though certainly less visible than in the urban communities, are noteworthy. Most such programs have targeted educational and health fields. The article we propose aims to show these programs’ implementation degree in Romania, providing as examples the most successful cases that help the social innovation process. The intention with which we start this study is to create a list of objectives that the initiators of these programs have to take into account during the preparation of those programs.

An entrepreneurial education and work culture brings changes in the relation between the public sector's organizations and its interested parties. More precisely, it is a question of changing managerial and organizational education practices towards self-direction, innovativeness, flexibility and responsibility. Understanding how public sector's organizations operate in an entrepreneurial manner is also helpful for supporting growth within the business community. This article aims at presenting a framework on young people's possibilities of becoming successful entrepreneurs within the public sector's organizations, showing a literature review that concentrates on the entrepreneurship subject, with focus on youth and the public sector's field. The results are the research made by using studies on this subject, thus leading to a proper use of entrepreneurial means, knowledge and start-up activities that allow an evolved education, self-responsibility and autonomy. We will see that the entrepreneurship concept has been expanded and a strong tendency is in favor of placing entrepreneurship in the center of attention, being regarded as natural in more contexts than the economic one. The wide understanding aims at developing abilities-power of initiative, energy, creativity, cooperation and responsibility, whereas the narrow understanding is more aimed at students obtaining business and self-engaging knowledge regarding personal growth activities.

Information about the paper titled "COLLABORATIVE LEARNING AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION" at IATED Digital Library

The main feature of the NET Generation is the fact that it is the first generation which “grew up digitallyâ€. Young adults today are so immersed in bits that they perceive them as an integral part of their natural environment, thus developing and imposing their culture and beliefs to the rest of the society, specifically by using digital media. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to show the framework on which young people develop a creative and innovative thinking by using online methods of obtaining and sharing information. Approach: It shows the literature that focuses on online learning, with priority to the generations’ updated skills and abilities. Results: With their reflexes adjusted to today’s speed and freedom, these resourceful young persons are starting to transform all institutions of modern life, replacing a culture of control with one based on performance. Value: In this paper, we will see that technology has started to play a main role in the social evolution, but this fact will not necessarily lead to a better society. This does not mean that technology should be blamed, but the other way around – in the digital world, there are sketched many developments that raise legit hopes in regard to the existence of new forms of human cohabitation and social interaction. It is required however, in this context, to place technology in a new economic, political and social framework.  Â