Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Cosmina-Elena POP Title: Subjective well-being in European countries Abstract: Quality of life is a top issue in European social policy agenda. Quality of life is an important source of comparative information on living conditions and opportunities for Europeans, as well as how they assess their own life. Quality of life can provide data to elaborate social policies at European level, in order to reduce social inequalities and increase social cohesion. Subjective indicators of quality of life are increasingly used in social policy proposals. The paper aims to describe the changes in the subjective well-being of European citizen during the period of 2003-2012 and to highlight economic crisis effect on quality of life. The analysis is based on three waves of the European Quality of Life Survey (2003, 2007, 2011/2012) conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The work is done in terms of quality of life and focuses on subjective well-being indicators, such as life satisfaction, satisfactory to the areas of life, happiness and perception of social exclusion. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/273/243 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: quality of life; life satisfaction; happiness; economic crisis Pages: 3-17 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2151 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2151 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Gabriel Stanila Title: The quality of life of the elderly in romania Abstract: Ageing brings a number of transformations in individuals` life and they are reflected in the quality of their life. While during the working years an individual carries out an incomegenerating activity for the daily living, retirement causes both physiological and psychological changes. Physiological transformations consist in a gradual reduction of mobility, increased incidence of age-specific medical conditions (diseases of the circulatory system, bones, and internal organs) that limit the physical effort that an elderly person is able to make. From the psychological viewpoint, an individual loses its reference points, the feeling of loneliness or worthlessness occurs, interactions with others are limited. One effect of the transition from working life to retirement is the reduction in revenue, which causes an imbalance in the daily living of the elderly. The issue of old age has become an important issue on the public agenda in recent years. The data provided by the Romanian National Institute of Statistics (NIS) supports this view, being based on life expectancy in Romania, in conjunction with the age structure of the population. A phenomenon of population ageing has emerged; for the first time in recent history the number of retired people is higher than the number of young people (The National Council of the Elderly, 2014). The ageing of the population, combined with increasing life expectancy can also be seen as a positive outcome of the modernisation of a society or of the integration of scientific discoveries in medicine; however, we must also analyse the living standards of these people. The purpose of this article is to address the issue of old age based on the transformations affecting the life of the elderly, the aspects relating to the quality of life and access to social and healthcare services, and leisure. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/274/244 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: quality of life; ageing; elderly`s quality of life; mutual aid association for pensioners Pages: 18-27 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2152 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2152 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Claudia Petrescu Title: Association and cooperation in Romanian rural areas? The leader experience Abstract: In the last quarter century, rural areas and agriculture in Romania have entered a new development stage characterised by numerous structural and functional changes. The rural development process should be a holistic one and focus on integrated and multi-sectorial interventions. As the community led local approach strengthens the micro-regional perspective, the partnership between local actors and local participation are key features of a successful local development. In order to analyse the problems of association and cooperation in rural areas, the article aims is to present the LEADER experience in Romania. LEADER is the development program who emphasize the need for cooperation between local actors in order to find innovative ways for dealing with different problems. Building on the empirical research, the article identifies and highlights some problems in the implementation of LEADER's principles. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/275/245 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: rural development; LEADER; partnership; cooperation Pages: 28-42 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2153 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2153 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Marian Ionut Istrate Title: Urban sprawl and demographic dynamics in Suceava metropolitan area Abstract: The quantification of the extension process of settlements boundaries is relatively new in the field of urban and territorial planning, taking scale once with the use of Geographic Informational System, in terms of remote sensing and photo interpretation of the satellite imagery from different periods of time. The contiguous build-up areas present high densities of population fact that is one of the premises of sustainable development. Using aerial and satellite imagery a highly-detailed map of the urban foot print of the studied area for the years 2004, 2010 and 2014which showed that the last 10 years the settlements expanded with almost 15%, mostly around Suceava and fragmenting the landscape. The demographic data showed that the population has grown on average, but some of the administrative units have lost population, the city of Suceava suffering the biggest population drop. In Romania urban sprawl is a phenomenon that also occurs for medium sized cities and the challenges for them are bigger due to the incapacity of the planning documents. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/276/246 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: urban expansion; GIS; urban spraw; Suceava metropolitan area Pages: 43-55 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2154 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2154 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Cristina Tomescu Title: Perceptions of a sample of physicians from Bucharest upon Romanian health policy Abstract: This article is part of a broader analysis, which is based on qualitative data collection by interviewing a sample of physicians. Data collection was conducted from November 2014 to March 2015. There were interviewed a total number of 40 physicians in Bucharest. Most of those interviewed are specialists working in state hospitals or are family physicians. Their perceptions upon how the medical system works show their displeasure against low wages, disorganization in the system, less efficient management of financial and human resources in the system. They pull the alarm on the phenomenon of massive migration of physicians and health indicators of the population. Rates of morbidity and mortality in Romania are a blend of specific indicators for developed countries with specific indicators for developing countries. Although most health indicators have improved over the last two decades, a number of indicators are still very problematic, with significant gaps compared to the EU average. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/277/247 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: perceptions; Romania; health policy,; physicians; health indicators Pages: 56-67 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2155 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2155 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mihai Diaconu Title: Education for a high quality of life Abstract: In our present society we need an education for change as the new social contexts requires the contemporary man to adapt faster to increasingly rapid changes in the everyday life. Failure to do so can have a significant negative impact on the quality of life. Therefore, the major problems of contemporary education are closely related to preparing students for a "new quality of life." "Quality of life" refers primarily to how people experience their life, conceive and carry out their existance. The most important objectives of education for a high quality of life aim to cultivate human qualities that will allow students to live at a superior levels in the new contexts of social life. Each of them is raising specific psycho- pedagogic challenges. The article aims to identify these qualities, analyze their psychological traits and propose an education strategy for each. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/278/248 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: quality of life; stress resistance; self-confidence; emotional stability; self-directed Pages: 68-73 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2156 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2156 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Adriana Borosanu Title: Biocultural landmarks mediating the acculturation process in Romanian context Abstract: The acculturation process produce changes in physical health conditions and in subjects' lifestyle. The present study looked at the adaptation process of some anthropological landmarks, in the context of economic and socio-cultural transitions under Western European influence. Methodologically, we have applied an anthropological questionnaire and another one for the assessment of trends in personality structuring to a sample of 210 subjects (10-16yrs) in rural communities with different adaptive parenting strategies. Three samples were selected: subjects whose parents are working in Western European countries and were left in their extended family's care, the ones that were left in the care of the restrained family and subjects under parents' care. Some results: We have adapted the classical methods of acculturation analysis by adding aspects of the sleep-wake functioning, being known that in this context significant changes of the sleep/wake pattern appear, along with consequences on physical and mental health. Our study also identified the adaptation effort in the mental balance, by accentuating tendencies in the structuring of personality or by emotionally weakening (aspects of the internal equilibrium of the targeted population) - processes usually seen in major changes, as e.g. in the acculturation process. In our culture, in the acculturation context the enlarged family is supportive especially for boys and the restrained family is supportive for girls, but many of them shift towards pathology. Boys are more resistant in the acculturation process, being more easily moldable by multiculturality Our study identified our openness towards multiculturality (the Western European model), during the acculturation process, both boys and girls respect the pro-social norms and behavior. The anthropological frame proved its adequacy in investigating the context of multiculturality, necessary to manage the stages of the acculturation process. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/279/249 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: anthropological landmarks; socio-economic transition; acculturation; multiculturality Pages: 74-83 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2157 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2157 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Eugen Glavan Title: Sweet as honey: A content analysis of how beekeeping is reflected in Romanian mass media Abstract: Apiculture is an activity with multiple ramifications, as it is approached from an economic, biologic, social or ecologic perspective in the attempt to tackle its contributions to biodiversity, a healthy eating style, the sustainable growth of agricultural production or community development. In this material we will study apiculture from a sociologic perspective, focusing on the way the field is reflected in mass media. The aim of the paper is to show the way in which the experts, the legislation and the institutions involved contribute to the construction of a particular image and to its traits. The exploratory research is based primarily on content analysis, but also on data mining and semantic network visualization. These methods are applied to a number of 2,248 articles published between 2010 and 2014 in digital format on the websites of news agencies and news aggregators such as Agerpres, Hotnews, Mediafax and Ziare.com. The results point to an image in which the dominant dimension is natural, ecologic, health and medicine oriented, with secondary aspects concerning the way in which the bees and their products connect the people and the environment. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/280/250 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: apiculture; content analysis; honey Pages: 84-100 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2158 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2158 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Vladimir Cretulescu Title: The socio-economic foundations of Romanian nationalism, in the view of Antoine Roger - a critical appraisal - Abstract: Before proceeding to the reviewing of Antoine Roger's original account of Romanian nationalism, I find it necessary to outline the field to which Roger's book makes an inspired contribution. In other words, I shall begin by discussing some of the recent works on the birth and shaping of Romanian nationalism, and therefore, of the Romanian nation. But first, our attention is called to the matrix which exerts an undeniable influence on many of these writings - the field of Romanian historiography2. Publication-Status: Published in "Journal of Community Positive Practices", 2 2015 File-URL: http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/281/251 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: First version, 2015 Keywords: nationalism; socio-economic; historical research; Antoine Roger Pages: 101-112 Issue: 2 Year: 2015 Number: 2159 Handle: RePEc:cta:jcppxx:2159