Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov. Series VII: Social Sciences • Law

The Romanian Community in Florence

2025-01-09T07:42:23+00:00

This study aims to create an accurate description of the Romanian Community in Florence, Italy. To do this scientific approach, mixed methods have been used, respectively the questionnaire and interview survey. This paper investigates varied perspectives of how the Romanians in Florence, Italy, are living, spending their free time, working, and celebrating religious (or not) holidays. It is of great interest in the research field to gather as much information as possible about these behaviours and daily life aspects. Especially in this era, where technology has eliminated the limitation of space and time, thus enhancing choices, communicational acts, and other various aspects in favour of people, both in the personal aspect of life, as well as professional aspects.

Hamster Kombat: Excursus into a Blockchain Game

2025-01-09T07:50:15+00:00

“Hamster Kombat” is one of the last evolutions in a long line of token-based projects that promised one of the most attractive airdrops in the history of blockchain cryptocurrency. In this article I expound an anthropological excursus about it. I intend to emphasize new perspectives into the ways in which digital activities and artefacts are imagined and represented on this blockchain game. Drawing upon publications from the past two decades, I use Hamster Kombat as an example to draw attention to the relevance of blockchain games for digital anthropologists.

Migrant Women: Cultural Obstacles and Violence, Tactics of Resilience and Strategies of Resistance

2025-01-09T07:55:43+00:00

The article analyzes the relationship between female migration, inclusion, and integration from a cultural perspective. The perception of the sea as a cultural space rich in meaning, life, and exchange is the starting point for observing the integration process of women. The qualitative research focused on western Sicily, characterized by continuous and traditional immigration examples of successful integration. At the same time, the area has become a place for migration flows during emergencies. The findings show some forms of violence suffered by them and describe the actions taken to deal with them. The detected actions are distinguished into tactics of resilience or strategies of resistance.

Measuring Dropout Intention in First Year University Students

2025-01-09T06:07:18+00:00

University dropout has become an increasingly critical research topic, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen a global rise in dropout rates. This phenomenon, defined as the discontinuation of higher education before degree completion, is multifaceted, with psychological, sociological, institutional, and interactionist perspectives offering diverse insights into its causes. Despite extensive research dating back to the 1980s, there is a notable lack of standardized instruments for measuring dropout intentions, particularly in the Romanian context. This study addresses this gap by proposing and evaluating the psychometric properties of a concise, five-item scale designed to assess dropout intentions among university students. The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency and construct validity through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Additionally, measurement invariance across gender was confirmed, though the results highlight the importance of a more diverse sample in future research. The findings underscore the need for robust, theoretically grounded instruments to facilitate early detection of dropout intentions and inform targeted interventions.

Objectification and Physical Appearance in Adolescent Girls

2025-01-09T07:33:07+00:00

Objectification, understood as internalization of an external observer's perspective of their own bodies, is a phenomenon experienced by females. The present research focuses on examining the relationships among sexual objectification, body shame, body appearance anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and eating attitudes in dancer and non-dancer adolescents. The results revealed no significant differences between the two groups. However, sexual objectification was found to be associated with body shame, eating attitudes, and fear of negative evaluation.

The Offense Provided by Article 12, Paragraph 1, Letter A, Clause I of Romanian Law No. 78 of May 8, 2000, for the Prevention, Discovery, and Sanctioning of Acts of Corruption

2025-01-09T09:28:44+00:00

The article aims to analyze the offense provided by Article 12, paragraph 1, letter a, clause I of Law no. 78 of May 8, 2000, in light of the clarifications made by the legislator through Law no. 160/2019. This endeavor focuses on aspects related to the constitutive elements of the offense, the case law of the Romanian Constitutional Court, and the High Court of Cassation and Justice, all reflected in the case law of national courts.

European Landmarks regarding the Citizenship

2025-01-09T09:34:06+00:00

At the European Union level, several regulations concerning European citizenship are briefly examined in this paper. Furthermore, the study delves into the institution of citizenship as reflected in the Constitutions of various member states, including Romania, focusing on its general aspects within the framework of constitutional law. Particular attention is given to the evolution of citizenship rights and obligations, both at a national and EU level, highlighting the intersection of national sovereignty and transnational governance. The analysis also explores the implications of these regulations for individual rights, political participation, and the legal status of citizens within the broader European context.

The Impact of Climate Change Caused by Greenhouse Effect Gases

2025-01-09T09:51:48+00:00

This article succinctly discusses a globally actual topic, namely climate change and the adaptation of society to the effects it produces. The work analyzes the impact of climate change caused by greenhouse effect gases over the economic environment in Romania. The segments which we are discussing are the energy sector, agriculture, and individual households. Also, we have researched the impact of consumption and production of energy, the main generator which influences climate change on a global level. Achieving climate neutrality, a neutral economy, an objective of the European Union, was also the object of this study.

Copyright Protection in National Legislation

2025-01-09T09:56:59+00:00

Copyright, as an independent branch of intellectual property law, is of particular importance in today's society that relies more and more on content, especially on social media networks (pictures, images, songs, videos). Copying them, and using them requires a good knowledge of the notion of copyright, and of the regulation at the European Union level but also at the national level, it also requires a good knowledge of the mechanisms that can be used to protect these copyrights.

Failure to State Reasons for the Judgment in the Criminal Case

2025-01-09T10:03:23+00:00

The purpose of the criminal proceedings is to establish the facts that constitute offenses so that any person who has committed an offense can be held accountable. To accomplish this purpose, the courts, based on the evidence adduced both in the prosecution phase and in the course of the trial, deliberate and issue a judgment. Thus, we can define the judgment as the final act of the trial, the synthesis of the trial, which is achieved by presenting the arguments that demonstrate the reasoning that led the judge to adopt the solution in the case and is an essential institution of any legal system. The hypothesis considered in the elaboration of this material mainly concerns the significance of a laborious reasoning of the judgments, the negative consequences of judgments that are not reasoned, and the sanctions applied by the courts of judicial review in case of such errors.

New Normative Clarifications regarding the Functioning of Ethics Commissions in the Higher Education System

2025-01-09T10:30:25+00:00

The amendment of the higher education legislation in September 2023 through the adoption of Law no. 199/2023 brought a series of improvements to the current regulations regarding university ethics, although in the practice of the courts, where appeals against the acts of the University Ethics Committees (UEC) will be deduced for analysis, there will still remain aspects treated with a dual regime. By analyzing the detailed regulations regarding the operation of University Ethics Committees, which is the subject of this material, we aim to highlight the still unclear (or insufficiently regulated) aspects as a way of practical application.

Historical Landmarks on the Evolution of the Right of Preemption in Romanian Law

2025-01-09T10:37:07+00:00

Preemption is a pre-sale state of affairs enhancing the right to buy before others. From its roots in Roman law and medieval customs to its codification in the 19th century, suppression during the Communist era, and revival in the post-Communist period, preemption has played an important role in regulating property transactions and preserving the integrity of land ownership. The evolution of the right of preemption in Romanian law reflects broader social, economic, and political changes in the country’s history.

Aspects regarding the Possible Discretionary Power of the President of Romania in Exercising the Power to Promulgate Laws

2025-01-09T10:42:46+00:00

The Constitution of Romania, republished, provides, in Art. 1 paragraph (4), that the organization and functioning of our state is based on the principle of separation and balance of powers in the state. The true functioning of this principle is conditioned by the configuration of control mechanisms and mutual collaboration, especially between the most important exponents of these powers, such as the Parliament and the President of Romania. One of the powers exercised by the President of Romania in his relations with Parliament is the promulgation of laws. Through this article, we aim to analyze whether this is a genuine attribution, as well as whether it can be exercised at the discretion of the head of state.

Social Responsibility Initiatives Supporting Ngos in Oradea Municipality

2025-01-09T08:01:41+00:00

The paper highlights the main needs and challenges faced by non-governmental organizations that provide social services in the municipality of Oradea and analyzes how they are supported by corporate social responsibility actions. The data obtained show that financial needs prevail and generate difficulties in the functioning of organizations. The support of companies is generally occasional and consists mainly of sponsorships and employee volunteering.

Psychodrama Online Groups in Social Work Education during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Promoting Learning and Wellbeing

2025-01-09T08:10:31+00:00

The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic at all levels of society impacted on established practices and routines in higher education, requiring creative and innovative responses. This paper presents a psychodrama online program offered to social work students to partially replace fieldwork limited during the pandemic, and the evaluation of its efficiency and impact. A key result is an increased awareness of the reciprocal influence between personal and professional issues, acknowledging the role of self-development in training social workers. Implications for social work higher education are discussed.

Implementing the Project-Based Learning Method in a Social Work Classroom: Mental Health Awareness – A Case Study

2025-01-09T08:17:45+00:00

This article presents a classroom experience with the application of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) method in the Social Work specialization during the second year of study. Our aim was for PBL to focus on improving foreign language communication skills while also promoting greater awareness of mental health issues within the community. Although there was room for improvement, the project led to significant student progress. Students developed a deeper understanding of mental health issues, enhanced their research skills, and improved their English proficiency, particularly in vocabulary. While students initially struggled with setting objectives and "learning how to learn," they ultimately succeeded in creating accessible, engaging final products—a handbook and a blog. Their main challenge lay in understanding the method, and difficulties were encountered in establishing objectives and expected outcomes. Overall, the project fostered growth in the social work domain and supported the development of language proficiency skills.

Integrated Branding in the City of Brașov – Connections between Transilvania University of Brașov and other Institutions in the Same City

2025-01-09T08:44:35+00:00

This paper aims to discuss and analyze the idea of integrated branding in the city of Brașov. It looks at how Transilvania University of Brașov has created connections with various cultural institutions. Transilvania University of Brașov and the mentioned cultural institutions usually collaborate in rider to achieve a common goal, by forming partnerships or by promoting each other. In this regard, the paper presents the way integrated branding is used in the connection that is observed between institutions, as well as the understandings, along with effective communication that bring beneficial results for both parties, while managing to promote the city of Brașov through the presence of positive images and outstanding support.

Virtual Influencers in the Context of Artificial Intelligence: An Overview of the Emerging Literature

2025-01-09T08:57:21+00:00

Virtual influencers, aided by artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-generated imagery (CGI), have emerged as key participants in the digital marketing scene. This study investigates their expanding importance, focusing on how AI technologies enable these digital personas to interact with audiences, personalize content, and optimize marketing strategies. Virtual influencers give marketers unprecedented control over messaging and audience engagement, making them a cost-effective and adaptive alternative to actual influencers. However, their popularity has created serious ethical questions, particularly about authenticity, transparency, and the manipulation of consumer trust via parasocial connections. This study examines the current literature on AI-powered virtual influencers, evaluating their effectiveness and the problems they offer to the future of marketing.

Social and Demographic Determinants of Online Disinformation

2025-01-09T09:10:06+00:00

This study aims to explore the social and demographic determinants of narrative influence in Romania, with a specific focus on how disinformation campaigns are tailored to different age groups based on their digital behavior. By examining the intersection of social media consumption habits, cultural biases, and socio-economic factors, this paper seeks to contribute to the growing body of literature on developing more effective strategies to combat the spread of disinformation and protect the integrity of societal resilience in Romania’s digital landscape.